And i have to disagree with a comment that the quality of the recordings is low. Thus, while leonhardt goes further into some of the minorkey fugues to find intellectual and spiritual depths that gilbert does not plumb, gilberts. Sherman, reprinted from early music america emag, november, 2000. Ultimately, though, id opt for gustav leonhardt, whose noble playing on an. Analysis js bachs music combines two elements, namely a high degree of formalism and complexity with utmost beauty. What repertoire did you study with gustav leonhardt. The well tempered clavier is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by johann sebastian bach. The well tempered clavier, book 1 bwv 846869 the well tempered clavier 1 is a collection of educational pieces with exceptionally high artistic contents. Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. He professionally played many instruments, including the harpsichord, pipe organ, claviorganum a combination of. In this area, you can describe your lessons with gustav leonhardt in any way you wish. He was a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period.
Gustav leonhardt plays bach, an album by johann sebastian bach, gustav leonhardt on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. The welltempered clavier, french suites, english suites twice, inventions and sinfonias, and many other. The maximal degree of homogeneity is observed in the latest recording watchorn 2006, in which twothirds of the. The well tempered clavier may be one of the great keyboard works in the history of music. Shermans books include inside early music oxford university press and performing brahms cambridge university press. Recording the welltempered clavier is a bit like climbing everest, and this new recording by christophe rousset devoted to book i has been eagerly awaited. The welltempered clavier, complete book 1 by johann. Gustav leonhardt plays bach by gustav leonhardt on amazon. Gustav leonhardts authenticity early music oxford academic. Although not quite at the level of profundity of his teacher gustav leonhardt s recording, kenneth gilberts 1983 recording of book 1 of bachs the well tempered clavier does have a style and polish that leonhardt s too often lacked.
Clavier, dating from between 1973 gustav leonhardt and 2006 peter. Both volumes appear to be out of print, but i found volume one at cd universe. Some of the preludes and fugues date from the 1720s. Bachs collection of 48 preludes and fugues in all the major and minor. Nov 30, 2015 the preludes are from the open well tempered clavier project, and were made using musescore software. Talking about the well tempered clavier, a very good source to get to the original scores is the website of the state library berlin together with bacharchiv leipzig and others, which deals with the heritage of js bachs autographs that are in public possession in germany. In 1950, he made his debut as a harpsichordist in vienna, where he studied musicology. A pair of sentences attributed to gustav leonhardt illus. The welltempered clavier, book 1 christophe rousset harpsichord roussets is a grounded, incontestably considered reading, exuding a quiet, unflappable authority reminiscent of gustav leonhardt he untangles bachs protean polyphony with the informed illumination. Bach did not specify the instrument to be used for these pieces, and the clavichord has a softer sound than the clangy harpsichord. The well tempered clavier, bwv 846893, collection of 48 preludes and fugues by johann sebastian bach, published in two books 1722 and 1742. Gustav leonhardt is one of the great keyboardists of the 20th century, and a great interpreter of bach. It is the only episode of the season to not be written by either jonathan nolan or lisa joy, but rather by individuals who had worked with the two of them in their previous endeavors dietz with nolan on person of interest and lingenfelter with joy on pushing daisies. With pairings of preludes and fugues for each major and minor key, bachs masterwork still serves as one of the most potent tools for students of the piano.
Bach wrote hundreds of pieces for organ, choir, as well as many other instruments. The first thing to say is you may want to get yourself a well tempered clavier played on a clavier which is well tempered. Johann sebastian bach the welltempered clavier 2008, cd. In bachs time clavier was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord but not excluding an organ either the modern german spelling for. The best recordings of js bachs the welltempered clavier. Beethoven used to practice the well tempered clavier in all scales. Each volume contains a prelude and fugue in every major a nd minor key, totaling 48 pairs. This piece is very special to me i got hooked onto it at a young age, and pestered my parents to let me learn the piano. For most arrangements, see the separate pages for the individual preludes and fugues. To accomplish this, he says, start out tentatively, somewhat slowly, as if it is difficult to begin.
Read gustav leonhardt s bio and find out more about gustav leonhardt s songs, albums, and chart history. This is a specific rather than a general eulogy and refers to. Central to leonhardts career was johann sebastian bach. Gustav leonhardt s dhm editions of both books of the well tempered clavier, the art of the fugue, goldberg variations and more in a nicely presented box and colorful sleeves, what else can you ask for.
The title page is missing from the manuscript, but its similarity to the first book of the well tempered clavier led editors to entitle it book ii. Listen to all recordings by gustav leonhardt in stunning, lossless sound quality. The well tempered clavier is a work in two volumes. Poblockas welltempered clavier book 1 encompasses some of the. Gustav leonhardt harpsichord and organ, with bob van asperen. Gustav leonhardt bach well tempered clavier book 2 three lp box set. Although one may regret that leonhardts art of fugue omits the final, unfinished contrapunctus, his imaginative yet tasteful registrations and subtle legato fingerwork remain impressive, as do the clearly unfolding welltempered clavier preludes and fugues, the great d minor organ toccata bwv 9, and a bracing 1965 italian concerto.
Bach worked on the second book over a long period of time, even reworking pieces he had written for other purposes, as he had in the first book. I thought i would post a survey of recordings of bachs well tempered klavier. Gustav leonhardt musician music database radio swiss. Bach musical notebook for anna magdalena gustav leonhardt, elly ameling lp nm. Bernard holland the well tempered clavier, books 1 and 2 bwv 84693. Jun 15, 2014 bwv846 bwv851 friedrich gulda, piano april 1972 no. The fact that i did not need to repeat a piece after his remarks and demonstration at the instrument allowed me to feel free to let his ideas and stimuli ripen over time. We should hear from the first notes of a piece what the sound, affect of the piece will be.
Gustav leonhardt harpsichord musicbachsweelinck1973 harmonia mundiimport. Gustav leonhardt was a dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. The young ukrainianborn pianist, still in her twenties, boasts an already impressive career, which has brought her to all continents, playing in tonhalle zurich, teatro colon, carnegie hall, numerous appearances at the amsterdam concertgebouw. Recordings by gustav leonhardt stream on idagio idagio. Gustav leonhardt 30 may 1928 16 january 2012 was a dutch keyboard player, conductor. In thomas manns novel lotte in weimar an old goethe muses on the achievements of his youth and of his maturity the former the work of genius, the latter the work of greatness. Leonhardt professionally played many instruments, including the harpsichord, pipe organ, claviorganum a combination of harpsichord and organ, clavichord, fortepiano and piano. Preludes and fugues the welltempered clavier, by j. I would like to recommend ralph kirkpatricks clavichord recording of the well tempered clavier. Complete score of the well tempered clavier, book 1, by johann sebastian bach open well tempered clavier project. Including the entire welltempered clavier as one monolithic piece would. The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, is a collection of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by johann sebastian bach. The fugues are from kyle rothers lillypond engraving. Put these two factors together and you have the potential for a great piece of work.
Gustav leonhardt 30 may 1928 16 january 2012 was a dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. A northern european taste the manner in which leonhardt gave lessons is well known. Any list of great bach recordings is, of course, going to be subjective, but we. Johann sebastian bach 16851750 fantasia and fugue in a minor. Leonhardt professionally played many instruments, including the harpsichord, pipe organ, claviorganum. A year for navigating the keyboards with bach the new. The second thing to say is that leonhardt s has been remastered onto dvd audio in japan. Free sheet music for the complete 48 preludes and fugues of the well tempered clavier by j. It consists of one prelude and fugue for each of the 24 major and minor keys. It also evokes the titlepages of several of bachs own collections, notably the first volume of the well tempered clavier.
S welltempered clavier the, book 1 jando by johann sebastian bach. Composed about 20 years apart, the two sets of 24 preludes and fugues that constitute the two books of johann sebastian bachs welltempered clavier didnt start off as one huge collection of 48 works in fact, the set of 24 preludes and fugues composed in 1742 were not issued as a sequel to the original wtc of 1722. Check out gustav leonhardt plays bach by gustav leonhardt on amazon music. Many performers touch the first aspect only briefly and focus on the flow of the music, to be able to express the inner beauty of the work. On the protestant roots of gustav leonhardts performance. Leonhardt was a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments. It explores the intricacies of each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys and constitutes the largestscale and mostinfluential undertaking for solo keyboard of the baroque era. Ironically, leonhardt, an advocate for historical performance and building preservation, achieved critical and commercial success during an era marked by the rhetoric of social protest, renewal, and technological progress. He was a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments. Gustav leonhardt has now closed this gap considerably. Recording the well tempered clavier is a bit like climbing everest, and this new recording by christophe rousset devoted to book i has been eagerly awaited. Well tempered clavier, book 1 gustav leonhardt the music of sergei rachmaninoff is close to the heart of anna fedorova.
In bachs time clavier keyboard was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord but not excluding. Bachs early admirers knew him as the father of harmony. Such thoughts perhaps passed through bachs mind too when surveying his own keyboard output, and the profound differences in. The well tempered clavier by bach david piano play it. Jorgensen, tuning the historical temperaments by ear. Although one may regret that leonhardt s art of fugue omits the final, unfinished contrapunctus, his imaginative yet tasteful registrations and subtle legato fingerwork remain impressive, as do the clearly unfolding well tempered clavier preludes and fugues, the great d minor organ toccata bwv 9, and a bracing 1965 italian concerto. Program notes in german by wulf arlt and hans joachim theill, with translations into english, french and italian inserted in container. The 50 greatest js bach recordings 2019 update gramophone. Leonhardt plumbs the depths of these works, both as a musician and as a scholar, and by the time he made this 1989 recording, they flowed from him. Here are a few interesting points about how famous composers about this piece of work.
The welltempered clavier book one for string quartet borromeo string quartet on allmusic 2017 for this 2017 living archive release, the. Leonhardt professionally played many instruments, including the harpsichord, pipe organ, claviorganum a combination of harpsichord and organ, clavichord, fortepiano and. Gustav leonhardt bachs instrumental works discography. Gustav leonhardt was born in sgraveland, north holland and studied organ and harpsichord from 1947 to 1950 with eduard muller at the schola cantorum basiliensis in basel. Gustav leonhardt 30 may 1928, sgraveland 16 january 2012, amsterdam 1 was a renowned dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor.