Found a great Bach interpreter!

CyberGene · 2024-08-19T14:28:59+00:00

Some probably know from other discussions that I consider Bach the greatest composer of all time. If it wasn't for Bach, I wouldn't play the piano because that's how it all started: my mom plays the piano and she wanted me to start learning it too since I was 5 but I thought it was a stupid thing for years. It was only when I was maybe 13 or 14 when I once heard her playing some Bach on the piano and something struck me profoundly, so much that from that moment on, I devoted to Bach and, naturally, to learning the piano, so that I can play Bach. Expectedly, I was grown on Glenn Gould and would find him sufficient for listening to Bach, which is why for many years I didn't even seek other pianists. However, despite my love for Glenn Gould, I must admit somewhere inside me I also detest Gould. His playing is awkward at times, and that's an understatement 😀 I haven't listened to a lot of Bach lately, and you also know that I'm more into Scriabin and Romantic music at all, whereas my Bach devotion only lies dormant, waiting for those special moments when I am burned out and need to go back to the core of music. So, I've grown on what is the rather "robotic" Bach of Gould, but I'm more into Romantic music and I really started wondering why Bach himself would play without feel. It's absurd to expect such a great musician, who managed to condense so much emotion in his music, to be reserved in his playing. Especially on non-dynamic instruments such as the harpsichord and organ, he definitely must have used rubato and agogic accents in his playing. For instance, I love the F-minor prelude from Well-Tempered Clavier I and personally I feel it's a very dramatic piece that can benefit a lot from rubato and from dynamics that a modern piano can provide. My personal belief is that if Bach had had a piano (actually he tested some of the early pianos but that's another story), he would definitely use the dynamics for more expressivity. I recorded the F-minor prelude the way I feel it 3 years ago. I'm far from saying it's any good or worth it listening to, but at least it attempts to show how I feel this prelude should be played: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=puchMCtE14o I'm currently on vacation and have some free time for music exploration, so using the Apple Music Classical application on my iPhone, which makes it really easy to search and compare many interpretations of the same work, I listened to so many recordings, but none really matched what I sought, until I finally found an unknown (to me) pianist called Evgeni Koroliov. Yep, I'm also named Evgeni but I haven't heard that guy before 🤦🏻♂️ Wow! I'm in absolute awe of his entire WTC 1 and 2 recordings. The guy plays Bach exactly the way I like it! Seems he's mainly associated with Bach which says a lot. Apparently he's one who has dedicated a lot to understanding Bach, or that's what I want to believe anyway 😀 But I can wholeheratedly recommend his WTC, as well as Goldberg Variations and I'm yet to hear his other Bach recordings. Here's the F-minor prelude as played by Koroliov (just audio, the same as on the released CD-s): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hn6nYbHeGQ Besides, the audio quality is awesome and the piano sounds great to me. The WTC were recorded in 2000 and 2002. He's on the streaming services, you can find him if you like, here are links to WTC 1 and 2 on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/bg/album/the-koroliov-series-vol-5/1509333493 https://music.apple.com/bg/album/the-koroliov-series-vol-6-the-well-tempered-clavier-book-2/1512269442

CyberGene

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 🙂

johanibraaten

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.

CyberGene

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.

johanibraaten

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😊

CyberGene

johanibraaten his Bach concertos are also very good.

johanibraaten

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

johanibraaten

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.

David Lai

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

[deleted]

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.

Johnstaf

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.

David Lai

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

David Lai

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.

jlg

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!

jdg78

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!

David Lai

jlg Thank you! I'm already noticing how I can improve the next time I play it. 🙂

David Lai

jdg78 I'll get the missing star from you next time, LOL. Thank you! 🙂

jdg78

David Lai There's no missing star - I was grading on a 4 star scale!

David Lai

jdg78 Haha, cool beans! 🙂

vagfilm

Congratulations, man! Wonderful playing. I listened onlyto the aria and the first 2 variations, and it was splendid.

David Lai

vagfilm Thank you, hope you enjoy the rest of it! 🙂

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