Bach: Die Kunst der Fugue
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Free Music Notes for Bach: Die Kunst der Fugue
Free Music Review: Extraordinary and beautiful rendering of Bach's great fugal opus
Hit: 5 Stars
As an obssesed fan of Glenn Gould, I would not have found my way to buying this album had I not realized that Gould had not recorded it on piano but only did some extracts on an organ, of all things. I have played through these fuges before and found them uninterested compared to the lovely themes that permeate the entire Well Tempered Clavier books 1 and 2. I read a few reviews of people who had bought this cd and on the strength of their passionate and positive appraisal, I bought it. Good that I did.
Her playing is first class, impeccable with a sure sense of dynamic, rythmic and colorful phrasing that entertain and enchant from the beginning to the end. This is a woman who had lived with these pieces, played them and contemplated their meaning. I have always said that a mere technician can reproduce sounds on a piano, often in a very accurate way but if there is no soul, if there is no artistic merit in the interpretation, then it is like listening to a robot playing the instrument. A gifted artist rises to the occassion and is motivated and inspired by the material at hand. The results here are worth a lifetime of repeated listening. If my memory is correct, there are so little, if any, indications in Bach's edition of how fast or loud or soft to play these pieces. That ommission allows an opportunity for the great artist to interpret with creativity. We are not disappointed here. The intuition of this artist led her to imbue this work with such beauty, allowing the work to reveal it's own inner realities on sublime levels. This is supposed to be Bach's crowning achievement and in most ways closes the Baroque era. A very rich accomplishment both for Bach, who died writing the last notes and for Tatiana Nikolayeva a recording that places her at the highest levels of musical accomplishments.
Free Music Review: Excellent Exposition of the art of the fugue
Hit: 5 Stars
The clarity of the notes and the even balance of the melody and harmony made this familiar piece of music sound new and excitingFree Music Review: A great master plays one of the monuments of the Baroque
Hit: 5 Stars
When I first saw this recordings in a music store I never realized what was waiting for me inside the jewel case. Two or three years had to go before I got one. Since then this is one of my favourites. Nikolayeva was a master in all the meaning of the word and although I am a purist (would have liked a Harpsichord instead of a Piano) her interpretation is magnificent, moving and executed with the precision required for a Brain surgery. Do not miss this set, it is without a question one of the very best AoF ever recorded. You will only need to hear how this great Russian Master played the first three notes of the Ricercare a 3, BWV1079, to know what I mean.Free Music Review: Absolutely stunning
Hit: 5 Stars
This is far and out the greatest interpretation ever (on piano) of this monumental work - absolutely perfect, under any aspect. If you are a classical music fan it would be a crime to give it a miss.Free Music Review: Best of the best
Hit: 5 Stars
I own about a dozen performances of The Art of Fugue (ranging from solo piano and organ over string quartet to Hermann Scherchen's orchestral arrangement). This is hands down my favorite (Scherchen's a distant second). Glenn Gould's might have been equally good if he had ever recorded the whole set for piano. (He recorded a partial set for organ, and piano recordings of a few individual fugues were released posthumously.)
While Bach never specified instruments for TAoF, the voice leading is too keyboard-friendly to be coincidental. It is not a "flashy" work but --- despite that --- extremely demanding on a keyboard player in that exceptional articulation skills are required to clearly bring out the four voices.
The purist may be annoyed at the fact that a piano (rather than a harpsichord) is used at all, and that (obviously) modern A=440 tuning is used. If you are one of these, you may wish to consider Davitt Moroney's harpsichord recording instead.
Unlike Moroney and organist Helmut Walcha, Ms. Nikolayeva does not attempt to "complete" the final unfinished fugue: her playing tapers off on the last notes in the manuscript.
The playing is not only crisp and technically perfect but beautiful at all times, and the recording very clean.
Bonuses are the four Duets (which work surprisingly well on the piano) and the two Ricercars from The Musical Offering. (The Ricercar a 3, incredibly, is actually rooted in an improvisation session by Bach on an early Silbermann fortepiano at the palace of Frederick II in Potsdam.)