# One of the Strangest Interpretations of WTC I've Heard



## LHB

While it's not traditional by ANY means, I actually like it somewhat! She breathes new life in to these works and makes them her own. What do you guys think?


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## Animal the Drummer

I _think_ I agree, though it takes some getting used to. One or two of the gentler pieces are wildly over-"interpreted", and overall it tells us more about the pianist than about the music IMHO, but it's certainly a fresh experience!


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## premont

LHB said:


> While it's not traditional by ANY means, I actually like it somewhat! She breathes new life in to these works and makes them her own. What do you guys think?


Thanks for posting this.

From a technical point of view she is frankly stunning, making even Glenn Gould's finger exercises sound amateurish.

From a stylistic point of view this is easily the most "pianistic" interpretation I have heard, making full use of all the piano's expressive potential, and it is surprising to what degree she can transform Bach's music into romantic tapestry.

No, of course I do not like it, it is way too far from my idea of the WTC, but it makes me consider her Beethoven integral, which may be better than rumour says.


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## Manxfeeder

Wow, I'd like to see a computer do _that_.

Sure, it's wrong; all the contrapuntal detail is lost. But we've all heard the WTC so many times, do we need to hear another version with contrapuntal detail, or can we do as Boulez said, listen with "new ears"?

So wrong or right, this is her new perspective. And her style is so fluid, it reminds me of when T.S. Eliot spoke of a moment "Like a waterfall, music heard so deeply that it is not heard at all, but you are the music while the music lasts."


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## TurnaboutVox

I quite liked it; it's certainly different. Her Bach sounds sometimes like Beethoven, then Chopin, Liszt or Busoni.


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## joen_cph

I liked what I heard, overall. Will probably return for exploring. But it seems to me that notes are missing at times.


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## Mandryka

LHB said:


> While it's not traditional by ANY means, I actually like it somewhat! She breathes new life in to these works and makes them her own. What do you guys think?


Very enjoyable. And it shows that she's a serious creative musician.


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## tdc

I have no problem at all with her taking a unique approach - its not bad. I just don't think its the most effective approach for Bach's music. I give her full points for originality, but a middle of the road score (at best) in terms of interpretation.


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## premont

premont said:


> No, of course I do not like it, it is way too far from my idea of the WTC, but *it makes me consider her Beethoven integral [H J Lim], which may be better than rumour says.*


I decided to explore Lim's Beethoven sonatas, and they were delivered today.

Så for dem, der kan forstå dansk: Jeg er hoppet på Lim-pinden.


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## Bulldog

TurnaboutVox said:


> I quite liked it; it's certainly different. Her Bach sounds sometimes like Beethoven, then Chopin, Liszt or Busoni.


And those are some of the reasons why I don't care for it at all. When washes of sound are substituted for contrapuntal recognition, I leave the room. But it's more than that. Lim simply uses Bach's music as a vehicle for her own romantic noodling. I find the concept disrespectful at a minimum and perverse in some of the pieces. When I want to listen to Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt or Busoni, I turn to those composers, not to Bach.


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## starthrower

She's really going out on a Lim with these interpretations. She's quite a beauty!


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## KenOC

Wishing Ms. Lim all the luck in the world. But her playing gives me a headache.


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## Woodduck

I don't think I've ever heard a performance of anything that bore so little relation to the music being played. Her technique is extraordinary, and I was fascinated for about six minutes. Then I realized how much music had gone by that I had not even heard. I decided not to miss any more of it and shut it off.


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## DavidA

premont said:


> Thanks for posting this.
> 
> From a technical point of view she is frankly stunning, *making even Glenn Gould's finger exercises sound amateurish.*
> 
> From a stylistic point of view this is easily the most "pianistic" interpretation I have heard, making full use of all the piano's expressive potential, and it is surprising to what degree she can transform Bach's music into romantic tapestry.
> 
> No, of course I do not like it, it is way too far from my idea of the WTC, but it makes me consider her Beethoven integral, which may be better than rumour says.


Listenng to the way Gould picks out the contrapuntal strands in Bach's music compared to this lady I'd hardly call his playing 'amateurish'!


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## premont

DavidA said:


> Listenng to the way Gould picks out the contrapuntal strands in Bach's music compared to this lady I'd hardly call his playing 'amateurish'!


I compared their dexterity, not their musicality.


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## Alydon

An interesting post and always great to hear another interpretation of this inexhaustible work. After collecting and selling off many different versions of this work this is one I couldn't live with, to my ears this pianist doesn't seem sure whether she's playing Bach, Schumann or Rachmaninov, and afterwards I had to listen to some of Rosalyn Tureck's classic DG mono recording to remind myself of how this music should sound.


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