Customer Reviews

Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier Book II

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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WTC book II is a very different set of pieces than the first book. The pieces are less compositionally tied together and are actually more interesting individual compositions, I think. But the WHOLE of the book is somewhat less than WTC I.

But who wants to hear all of the preludes and fugues in a sequence anyway? They were certainly never written to be performed that way. But they are a joy to listen to and an even greater joy to play.

This recording is more than very excellent. Schiff's playing is thoughtful, wonderfully voiced, sonorous, and emotionally correct. He never indulges in idiosyncracies to pretend to individuality. Instead, he reaches into the well of his deep musicality and gathers all the resources he needs to make these performances his own without having to resort to musical body piercings or tattoos.

You would do very well to have this and the recording of WTC I in your collection.

I've never heard such delicate and beautiful playing of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier such as this. Schiff coaxes the most incredibly sweet sounds out of his piano and gives these works a new dimension. Some of the tempi in the fugues are slower than those of Gould's survey, as indicated by the reviewer below, but his phrasing is so flowing and smooth that it becomes more hypnotic and the listener becomes entranced by it. Add to the fact that the sound is remarkably full with just the right amount of resonance without compromising clarity (compared to Gould's discs which offer impressive crispness but is rather dry in tone) this set is satisfying in every way.

Despite his wide-ranging repertory, Andras Schiff has established himself as something of a Bach specialist. Bach's second collection of twenty-four preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys was composed (and compiled) two decades after the first; although just as masterful in its composition it overall makes for a somewhat less satisfying total listening experience than the first set, primarily because of a certain sameness of tempo and mood that sets in around the F-sharp minor (which in itself is a lovely piece, often played separately), no. 14, and lasts until the A major, no. 19. It is precisely in some of these that one senses a certain overemphatic underlining, a straining for effect that suggests Schiff feels this way as well. The staccato treatment of the A-flat major Fugue, no. 17, a la Gould and the attempt to impose a forceful final climax on the succeeding fugue are cases in point. Nevertheless, as others have pointed out, these pieces were probably never meant by Bach to be performed or heard as a set. For every idea of Schiff's that doesn't quite work, there are many that do--his grasp of the knotty technical and structural problems of the B-flat minor Fugue, for example, is most impressive. The individual listener can easily listen to Schiff's interpretations that match his tastes and skip over those that don't. Though I myself secretly find the old Joerg Demus reading, incorrect ornaments and all, the most satisfying of all of the WTCs on piano, and of course pay homage to Gould's incomparable technical mastery, Schiff's WTC is one modern recording that I return to frequently.

Distinguished phrasing, magisterial control and sensitive treatment of the score are some of the most remarkable adjectives around these notable pieces of the second book of this important set.

According the great tradition of the great pianists, Schiff has written his name with golden letters in the musical memory. His approach reveals a sharp and zealous sense of the counterpoint, the smart changes of modulation, polished tune, expressive daintiness, careful phrasing and accurate balance.

The well tempered clavier demands from the player a countless amount of requisites that Schiff owns. His playing is at the meantime, evocative and reflexive, thunderous and lyric, grandeur and éclat, he never abuses of pedal and every little bar fits adequately into the context. Sometimes he makes remind us to Edwin Fisher in which sense of the span concerns, but his magisterial approach reveals an overwhelming accomplishment

Personally, I don' t know about any other sumptuous recording of this emblematic pages.

When listening to Andras Schiff playing the 48, apart from the great pleasure taken from his delicate touch, one can easily perceive how thoughtful he was when choosing his tempo, articulation, ornamentation and, of course, the use of the pedal. A must for those who appreciate the music of Bach played on the modern piano.

This is a really lovely recording. Schiff is a superb technical pianist who presents Bach cleanly. Some have (including me) have commented on Schiff's somewhat romantic tendencies in other Bach recordings. While I think this is true of his Chopinesque playing of the Goldberg variations, I think this set of recordings is very faithful to Bach.

I have just revisited Schiff's Well-tempered Clavier which has been my favourite and it is as fresh as always. Nonetheless it occurs to me that:

(i) Schiff has captured Bach's spirit very well-- he has Bach in his soul above all;

(ii) nonetheless it was recorded over twenty years ago when Schiff was comparatively young;

(iii) he keeps listening to and referring to Edwin Fischer's Well-tempered Clavier all the time;

(iv) he has been playing these Preludes/Fugues as morning shower all these years, so, he must have a deeper understanding of these pieces as by now he has become a more sophisticated Master Musician;

(v) the recording of these CDs however good they were, still leaves something more to be desired, especially Bk I. Note for example the difference between the left hand and the right hand-- due most likely to the accoustics of the place where the pieces were recorded-- so that the unity some of these pieces were in check. So it is perhaps time that Schiff should record them for a second time, for the benefit of all the piano students and the enjoyment of all audiences.

Until that happens, and for the more curious and ardent audience, other than Edwin Fischer and Glenn Gould, they could perhaps also try the more outspoken versions from Gulda and Richter. As for the students preparing these works, they could also refer to the lyrical and soulful rendition of Horszowsky and the equally impeccable version by Nikolayeva.

I have already reviewed Andras Schiff recording of Johann Sebastian Bachs The Well Tempered Clavier Book one and would just like to add that book two of the WTC is the same masterpiece as book one and this recording by Schiff is just as excellent as the recording he did of WTC book one, I can't recomend this highly enough, both the music and the recordings are Blissfull Masterpieces. This is THE music to take with you to the desert island.

You have not heard his voice until to have heard Andras Schiff play the Well Tempered Clavier

Listen to Glenn Gould's WTC II first. Schiff does an excellent contrapunctal work, but drags a little bit on tempi and does not have the same level of hypnotic effects as Gould achieves.