Found a great Bach interpreter!

Johnstaf the greatest performances I've ever heard of anything by anyone.

That's the same feeling I got when I heard Sokolov performed Brahms concerto no.1 back in 1996. I still feel the same about that concert.

QuasiUnaFantasia I guess the way to go about it is starting early: as a little child with a toy piano you start every practice session by lifting your piano up over your head, and put it softly down again. Now repeat this every time you practice for the rest of your life, and you'll be the strongest person on Earth before hitting adulthood. 😉

Great idea indeed, it seems that pianists have an opportunity here that other musicians might be missing😊

As it relates to playing the piano, too much emphasis has been placed on strengthening “the fingers,” and this has in turn sent many pianists to the emergency room with fingers that have been pushed to their limits and beyond….

Evolution did not factor piano-playing into its selective process, so, whilst the opposable thumb emerged out of necessity in order to preserve the species, and further propel us onto bigger and greater things, it was meant mainly for “gripping” to/onto things, grasping & handling, but not for piano-playing. So you see, the emphasis should be on figuring out how these things called fingers can better adapt to a machine that is inherently out of context, and, in the process it could turn out that evolution will take this effort into account so as to develop hands/fingers that can be better equipped for the piano, and not mostly meant for gripping/holding onto things; in the meantime I advise you to concentrate on how to go about this lapse in evolution and try to better adapt your hands around this conundrum.

In a nutshell, the piano was forced upon us rather than something carefully selected for the preservation of the species, so don’t overly-exercise your fingers under the false notion that this will in turn make you a better pianist….in other words, use your brain in figuring out a workaround that involves very little in the way of “strengthening.”

Pete14 As it relates to playing the piano, too much emphasis has been placed on strengthening “the fingers,”

That's just bad teaching.

Johnstaf

And to this day I still hear some of these “teachers” vouching for the eight-hour regime with an emphasis on, you guessed it, strength!

Treat your fingers gently, and let the upper muscles do all the heavy lifting, for the fingers are fragile strands that were never meant for rigorous work, but rather for pointing, holding, grabbing, etc…

When was the last time you gave your fingers a well-deserved vacation?

Have you treated them aching fingers to a massage lately?

……but I digress…….

I don't know if she's mentioned in this thread but one pianist that I have listened to quite a lot recently is Beatrice Rana. I think her playing is lovely and refreshingly absent of superficialness and effect seeking. I'm particularly fond of her recordings of the Bach concertos but I think she handles a lot of other music and composers brilliantly. She has also recorded the Goldberg variations but that one isn't my favorite, not bad by any means, just not my favorite.

johanibraaten I have only listened to her Goldberg Variations and I was very fond of them for a while. My only gripe with it is the playing is almost an exact copy of Glenn Gould's famous recordings. But she's fantastic anyway, thanks 🙂

CyberGene My only gripe with it is the playing is almost an exact copy of Glenn Gould's famous recordings.

I kind of agree and I think that's why it's not my favorite. I have listened so (too?) much on Goulds late recording of the Goldberg which might unconsciously have become the benchmark I measure every other recording against. That makes Beatrice Ranas recording (unfairly) like a "lesser version" of the Glen Goulds late recording. I find Ranas recording being less "punchy" and precise rhythmically where she smears off the accent for a more gentle expression. I also miss some of the crystal clear lines and the otherworldly contrapuntal transparence that defines Gould playing.

johanibraaten I couldn't say it better! Indeed, the late recording of Glenn Gould is the benchmark and it hasn't been bettered. That's why sometimes, just for the sake of variety, I prefer totally dfferent interpretations: overly romantic, lyric, with improvisation. Glenn Gould is a blessing and a curse for the younger Bach interpreters, since he made Bach cool, but at the same time it's too difficult to get out of his shadow and do something that won't be compared to his reference recordings.

Today I listened to Bachs partita in E minor with David Fray and I think he deserves a mention in this thread. I have earlier been unfairly writing him of as a kind of Glen Gould wannabe but I think he's paying is excellent and very personal. He have a plasticity and agogic freedom that feels quite liberating and I also like his tempi .

I just want to say that I like threads like this and @QuasiUnaFantasia recent Chopin thread. It's fun to discuss actual music😊

johanibraaten his Bach concertos are also very good.

Anyone else watching the organ marathon from st. Thomas Church in Leipzig? Thomas Lang is performing Bachs complete organ works in 22 hours.

Thomas Lang is now on the last set of the organ marathon, amazing achievement! For anyone who might not know, st. John's church is the church where Bach worked the largest and last part of his life. He is also buried here. I was here last last weekend myself and attended two musical events.

Well, let's keep the Bach, and Goldbergvariations, going!!!

David Lai Omg man, again, the playing is fantastic and the sound is flawless. I am also going to add that you look pretty cool.

David Lai Fantastic! I love the directness of it. In spots (like Var.3) your sound reminded of Richter's recording of the 48. You have a way of letting the music out. Too often it's trapped in a sea of notes.

[deleted] Thank you!!! The recording was well worth the wait.

Johnstaf Thank you! The unison canon is hard to phrase well. Technically, the right hand has 2 voices that constantly overlap each other, and the left hand has a passage that's very active… I'm glad you found it clear and direct, that was what I was striving for.

David Lai Fantastic performance, no other way to put it. I’ll add that as insanely difficult as some piano repertoire can be, in my books Bach is actually the most difficult music to REALLY nail, either in performance or in a recording studio. Few pianists (and I don’t consider myself one of them) can play Bach. My opinion only, obviously: Bach “exposes” one’s musical aptitude unrelentingly. Bach is unforgiving, a bit like the opening bars of Beethoven’s G major piano concerto, if I may cite a crazy example. If you don’t get pretty much everything exactly “right,” you’re done. YOU may hear lapses in your interpretation and performance of the Goldberg V, but I didn’t!

Absolutely fabulous performance, David - as good as I've ever heard from anyone. Incredibly clear and articulate playing, immaculate voicing, and a deeply musical interpretation. Four stars!