Customer Reviews

Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

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Richter's RCA recording of Well-Tempered Klavier still remains as one of the most awe-inspring recording in his entire discography, and no other pianists can match the depth and the intense beauty Richter captures. (Recently I listened to Angela Hewitt's live performance of the work and was amazed by the supefaciality of her playing. More amazing was the fact that critics and audience were ecstatic in praising her performance!)

Check out equally stunning Richter's 60s recording of the Book 1 (originally issued by Russia Revelation / Richter did not record Book 2 at the time, what a shame!), now available from a Russian label called Venezia.

Foolish hyperbole perhaps, but currently it's my sincere opinion that this the greatest ever recording of the greatest ever composition. You simply must hear it. I have nothing else to say about the music or Richter's playing, but please be aware of sound quality issues. I bought the mp3 downloads of Book 1, and was so bowled over by the performance that I immediately bought the Eurodisc CDs of Book 2. This came as a shock, as the Book 2 CDs have far better sound quality than the Book 1 downloads. So I invested in the Eurodisc CDs of Book 1 too... and boy was it worth it. Even ripped to mp3 and transferred to my iPod, the tracks from the CDs are considerably better than the mp3 downloads. I'm frankly puzzled: the stereo original is strangely erratic for a 1970s taping made in the West, quality varying from one track to another and the worst having a gritty, crumbly quality. (Sadly the transcendental Prelude 1 Book 1 is one of these.) Believe me, in this recording if in no other, the margin by which the CDs outscore the downloads is well worth the substantially greater cost and the delay in delivery time.

This was one of the first recordings of Bach that I purchased and the first performance of this work that I heard. I own other recordings of this work now, including the ones by Gould and Landowska, but I still have a soft spot for this. Richter saw the work mainly as a thing of beauty and played it that way, almost being dainty at times.

This recording offers unsurpassable music played by truly great musician. Richter is true to the music and equally true to his own powerful pianism. He plays as if he is composing these pieces. He plays fast passages with breathtaking power, and slower ones with utter and delicate control. There are a number of fine recordings of these works, some by "specialists" who are very good. Richter transcends specialization. I think Bach would have liked this one best.

These performances here by Richter demonstrate the "Romantic" approach toward Bach, which is a bit outdated and controversial. Either Richter used the sustaining pedal a lot or the engineering added some reverberation, for there is far too much muddiness here for Bach, in my opinion. Plus, I find many of the tempi to be inappropriate. With Bach, the melody dictates the tempo, and Richter did not seem to capture the right tempi at times.

I realize that Bach can be played too dryly at times, as with Gould. Deciding how to play Bach on the piano is, admittedly, a difficult decision. But, I do not feel that anyone should ever use the sustaining pedal when playing Bach, which appears to be the case here. Of course, Richter is a very fine pianist, and what I am criticizing here is his "Romantic" approach, not his playing.

Probably the best performance ever recorded of Book 1.

Very clean, very emotional. One more time this is full, 100% Richter's mastership and soul.