Customer Reviews

Bach: Piano Concertos nos 1, 4-5/Gould, Bernstein

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is some of the best music I've ever heard both in terms of the writing and the performance. I think J.S. Bach wrote some of the best music ever, and these are among his best pieces. I especially love the D-minor concerto; the slow middle movement is very beautiful, but it's the quick first and third/final movements which really excite me and blow my mind. It makes you wonder how something can be so clever in terms of musical structures (rhythms, harmonies, melodies, and counterpoint) and still come out sounding so darn good, natural, emotional, beautiful, etc. I mean it's not always easy to have a whole bunch of melodic lines sound that good independently of eachother and come together to form a perfect harmonic union. I know; I've tried.

I've heard at least one other performance of these concerti which were also excellent. At least one that I've heard featured the harpsichord instead of the modern grand piano. The orchestra may also have been using original period instruments. So it was closer to the way Bach would have performed it. It was just as good as this, but different. I can't speak for the maestro, but I'd like to think that Mr. Bach would have liked this performance, too.

On this performance, Glenn Gould sounds so good on the modern grand piano that it has to be heard to be believed. It's just perfect! He expresses so much emotion, fire, and drama without sacrificing one iota of precision. He's performing along with world-class conductors and orchestra musicians who sound as good as he does. I think this really belongs in your music collection!

I bought this cd only for the Concerto in D Minor. I fell in love with this concerto years ago. The first and third movements are some of the most thriling works of music I have ever heard. I always wondered if old master Bach wote this piece to show off a bit! I have a small collection of recordings of this piece. Gould's is the best in terms of performance. His execution is remarkable. However, I must admit that the recording is terrible. And for that I can only give this recording three stars. Hopefully, someone will remaster it and release a proper version.

This recording of concerto # 1 simply blazes with passion and energy. Between the power and beauty of Gould's performance, and the magic of Bernstein's conducting, this is one of the best CD's you can have in a Bach collection. # 4 and # 5 are also spectacular, but it's # 1 that will win your heart and soul.

I had the privilege as a teenager to hear Glenn Gould in concert, an experience not to be forgotten. With his low, custom made stool, and thick white sweater under his suit, he produced a sound out of the piano I had never heard before, or have heard since.

Recorded in the late '50's, it's in mono and has not been remastered. By today's standards the sound is poor...but there are many great things that transcend modern technology (a Valentino film, a Björling aria, Gardel !) and this performance belongs somewhere at the top of the list.

The late Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was a master interpreter of Bach's keyboard music. These concertos were written for the harpsichord but Gould makes a compelling case for the modern piano. It doesn't hurt that he plays them on one of the most beautiful Steinway pianos I have ever heard. The big, fat, round tone of this instrument is breath taking. The first concerto in D-minor sounds like it was composed on graph paper instead of music paper, but Gould makes it sing and dance. The fifth concerto in F-minor usually sounds heavy on a piano, but Gould makes it float on air. The slow movement here was used by Gould as the music for the alien visitors in the movie "Slaughterhouse Five."

Bach, in my opinion, is the greatest composer that ever lived. Gould was his greatest interpreter. These keyboard concertos show why. They are not like classical keyboard concertos in which the orchestra and the piano take turns, as if calling and answering each other. Instead, they are Bach's baroque concertos, in which the orchestra plays along with the keyboard, but where the keyboard is clearly leading. These concertos are masterfully written. The melodies are beautiful and surprisingly catchy(and probably familiar to many). Though the recordings are old, it is of no consequence because the quality is good enough to allow Gould's amazing playing shine through. There was no better technical pianist than Gould, and his playing of the counterpoint in this recording shows why. Gould also shows his deep, almost spiritual connection with Bach because not only is the playing technically perfect, it is also very emotional and spiritual without adding any romantic flair to Bach that so many other pianists today tend to do. Gould studied Bach intensely, and it shows in his marvelous playing. Though it's nice to have many recordings of these masterpieces (on piano, harpsicord, and violin), I almost guarantee that these are the ones you'll be coming back to for more. The quality of the performance is so absolutely perfect that it's addicting. Get this if you don't already have it because it is an essential recording.