Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge [IMPORT]

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Grigory Sokolov (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Grigory Sokolov
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (June 11, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Opus 111
• ASIN: B00005RCZ5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,035 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #12 in

  Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Improvisation

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get it while you can, May 7, 2009

By	y.sheshenin (san francisco, usa) - See all my reviews

many people have played bach before and even more will play later. sokolov plays bach like no one else did.
out of recent crop of bach's interpreters only till fellner, helen grimaud and piotr anderszewski seems to relate to his approach.
sokolov has no attitude, no overwrought concept. what he does is really difficult to verbalize.
for one it is a reading eerie in it's unhurried precision, steely resistance to "interpretative" urges. this is deep listening. listening to bach. nothing else. all outside world is shut out. what emerges is a symbiotic conversation of two masters. they get each other and a listener is privy to the conversation.
that is a kind of unsentimental intimacy that seems to be required to hear and play relevant bach.
sokolov is cherishing his obscurity in us. clearly the folksy appeal and sentimentalizing manner of the likes of yo yo ma that easily translates into sales is apparently unacceptable to him.
here is an uniquely gifted and profoundly original artist with overwhelming technique, magnificent touch and interpretive capacities of a philosopher. he does not record often, not even frequently. so get this record and whatever is available while it is within reach.
it is a playing in the class of it's own.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent piano interpretation, December 14, 2002

By	Max Berglund (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

Albeit not a technically perfect recording, Sokolov's 1982 reindition of the Art of Fugue is on par with Nikolayeva's and in some areas even surpasses hers. Sokolov has a better drive in many of the fugues -- e.g. contrapunctus #4 and #9 -- and he also has an ability of separating the different voices in an almost uncanny manner. The somewhat stacatto playing might not appeal to everyone, though I think it's used with sense and only when called for: to chisel out themes which easily get jumbled on the piano where it's not as easy for the ear to keep the many different lines apart compared to recordings of the Art of Fuge on other instruments as for example string quartett. Sokolov has a very humble and sensitive approach towards the closing unfinished fugue; it stays tranquil and personal, which is not the case of Nikolayeva who to me comes out a bit too bold, majestic and alien. If you want to listen to the Art of Fugue on the piano, get both this and Nikolayeva -- they're both extremely good and won't disappoint anyone. The "bonus" 2nd partita is played a tad harsh, but the last movement, the cappricio, is not to be missed: exact and powerful without losing grace and beauty.

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As it was meant to be played..., January 11, 2004

By	Linda N. McLeod (Vallejo, California United States) - See all my reviews

Scholars have disputed the intended instrumentation of Bach's Der Kunst der Fuge for years. Many performers have cast this work for string quartet or organ, even woodwind instruments or orchestra. In my opinion, no recording has made as great a stance for the performance of these fugues on piano as this one by Grigory Sokolov. His playing has great energy and control, with enlivening dynamics that highlight the uniqueness of each fugue. In the mirror fugues, for example, he contrasts each "side of the mirror" by varying the volume and mood. What I especially enjoy about Sokolov's performance is his ability to seperate out the four different voices in the fugues. Usually this would be the chief problem with playing such a dense work as the Art of Fugue on piano, but Sokolov manages to highlight every single entrance of the theme or themes, meaning you won't be listening awestruck to just a mesh of unmelodious sound. Sokolov reveals the secrets of fugue with the clarity one would typically expect only from a performance played on multiple instruments. In the final unfinished fugue especially, the three different presented themes stand out in wonderful counterpoint without requiring any deliberate attentive listening. Also, the addition of Bach's Partita No.2 on disc 2 provides a great way to unwind after having listened to the entirety this german master's last great masterpiece.

Those of you who would normally prefer The Art of Fugue performed by an ensemble should consider this stunning performance on piano!