J.S. Bach: Toccata, Partita, English Suite 2/ Martha Argerich [Original recording remastered]

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Martha Argerich (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Martha Argerich
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (June 13, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B00004R7X0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,688 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Toccatas

Editorial Reviews

ARGERICH MARTHA BACH: TOCCATA IN C

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars reputable interpretation of Bach on the piano, June 16, 2000

By 

Niya (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: J.S. Bach: Toccata, Partita, English Suite 2/ Martha Argerich (Audio CD)

In some ways, it might be more difficult to play Bach on the piano than on the harpsichord. One doesn't always find pianists giving convincing interpretations of Bach that seem to stand the test of time. They need to good fingers, great intellect, an intuitive sense of rhythm, clear and clean sound production, a style suited to the music of Bach, and an awareness of the grand musical structure in his music. They also need the greatest sensitivity for harmonies and colors. Martha Argerich has many of these qualities. In her Bach, there is a unique intensity and drama. She creates powerful and vivid characterization and impressions with great economy. Ineffable and dramatic moments seem sometimes produced by no more than the slightest shading or the subtlest rubato. The secret may lie in the concentration. This is music making that has the potential to challenge one's mind. It might give an impression that Argerich had a fastidious and serious attitude when playing Bach, but her playing at the same time has a feeling of effortlessness and naturalness also - I found. It was my impression that her performance of Bach here achieved a relatively degree of simplicity. If I remember correctly, Chopin might have said that simplicity is the "final seal of art(s)"?

The length of this recording is not the longest (50'16)- one of the shorter ones in DG's "The Originals" legendary recordings series. However, Argerich also recorded the Bach Cello Sonatas with Mischa Maisky (also by DG). Years ago, I found myself listening to these two CD's quite often. They could be stimulating when I listened to them intently, but they proved to be a soothing companion for my book reading at times.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Argerich's purism and poetry in Bach is UNSURPASSABLE!, June 18, 2000

By 

Eytan Ýpeker (Ýstanbul,Turkey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: J.S. Bach: Toccata, Partita, English Suite 2/ Martha Argerich (Audio CD)

Martha Argerich is an absolute winner in Bach. Surpsingly so in some ways but not totally so: The maximum fingercontrol/clarity/artýculaion makes a Bach recording that one can easly call DEFINITIVE, a term that nobody dared to use for Argerich before. Not even the most 'purist' listener will be able to say "This is not Bach,it's Argerich"(BTW,listen to her new EMI concert recordings of the same tracks and you will be amazed to see the difference between the wilder/ truly 'Argerich' concert approach and this calmer and more Bach-like studio approach: She is simply someone else in the studio!..) Yet,in this studio recording righly reissued in the Deutsche Gramaphone's LEGENDARY RECORDÝNGS series,one can also guess that such a natural sounding poetry, such a 'color-range',such an elegence and beauty cannot be anyone but Martha Argerich. This is how the purist approach Bach should be ideally. Having listened to Richter's(Well-tempered), Gould's(well-tempered)and a few others' Bach, Argerich's recording reminds me of Plato's cave parable.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most extraordinary classical recordings ever, November 8, 2002

By 

Cheryl P Sucher (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: J.S. Bach: Toccata, Partita, English Suite 2/ Martha Argerich (Audio CD)

I first heard this recording over twenty years ago in a small, dusty apartment in Tel Aviv. As a serious piano student, I was accomplished in playing Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. In fact, Glenn Gould's piano rendition of Book One was the first album I ever purchased. I was familiar with Gould's Bach interpretation, and when my Israeli friend heard my praise, he went to his cupboard and produced this recording. "You've never heard Bach played like this," he said, smiling wistfully. He played the LP and the room was suddenly alive with the internal joy and rhythmic nuance that only the best Bach performers can capture. Over the years, I have returned to this recording for creative inspiration as it sounds as fresh and vital on the thousandth hearing as the first. There is intelligence, wonder and extraordinary musicality in Argerich's technique inspired by the composer's crafty genius. She is a wonder.