Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard [Paperback]

`A splendid and valuable book - a fitting sibling to the author's classic work on the interpretation of Mozart. there is hardly an aspect of Bach interpretation not touched on, and scholarship is complemented by a lifetime's experience of performing the music under discussion.' Elisabeth Sydney, Piano, Jul/Aug 00.

`its lack of a strenuously didactic tone, combined with deeply held artistic values, make the book a happy springboard to independent thought on the part of the reader. As such it should withstand the test of time, offering as much genuinely musical nourishment to the readers of 50 years hence as it does to those of today.' Elisabeth Sydney, Piano, Jul/Aug 00.

Once in a while there appears a book whose subject-matter, scope, thoroughness and readability all make its incorporation into even the smallest library a self-evident piece of evolution....I urgently recommend any perfromer who has not already acquired the hardback (1993) to buy this paperback forthwith...Badura-Skoda's prose style is lively, witty, well-paced...and always easy to follow. Considerable credit must accrue to translator Alfred Clayton, who not only preserves the elegance and flow of Badura-Skoda's original German, but even manages the jokes and puns too...a splendid achievement.If you play keyboard, go out and buy it instantly...Recommended without any reservations.

`it is a relief to turn to the passionate advocacy of Paul Badura-Skoda ... He wants to solve the mystery of Bach's appeal and to give pointers on how to convey it, and the vigour of the prose (congratulations also to the translator) gives a heady sense of the excitement of the unfolding detective story. ... but he is also able to present detailed evidence on specific issues and to lead the reader to some genuine insights by deeply thought-out arguments. Appreciating the importance of context he points the way to useful conclusions, marrying musicology with performance to produce a child which is understanding.' Gillian Weir

`it is a relief to turn to the passionate advocacy of Paul Badura-Skoda ... He wants to solve the mystery of Bach's appeal and to give pointers on how to convey it, and the vigour of the prose (congratulations also to the translator) gives a heady sense of the excitement of the unfolding detective story ... he is also able to present detailed evidence on specific issues and to lead the reader to some genuine insights by deeply thought-out arguments. Appreciating the importance of context he points the way to useful conclusions, marrying musicology with performance to produce a child which is understanding' Gillian Weir, BBC Music Magazine

`The most comprehensive and authoritative treatment of its topic ever attempted. His intimate familiarity with Bach's keyboard music is evident throughout. This is an important study that deserves an international audience.' Russell Stinson, State University of New York

`This impressive book should be a welcome tool to evaluate and reassess what we have learned about Bach's keyboard style in recent decades.' Alfred Brendel

`I found many fascinating and rewarding pages in this very stimulating and unconventional book. For any lover of the 18th century, this study should be essential reading, not least because of its solemn final ending.' H. C. Robbins Landon

`[In] this big, detailed, and constantly worthwhile study ... a responsive, experienced performer and industrious reader of the literature shows us how he understands various of the problems for the interpreter of Bach's keyboard music; and the responses and experience of such a musician must be of great interest. The background work has beed well prepared, authorities are made use of as required, and there is an attractive impression given by the book of wishing to share ideas ... It is an imposing book, personal as opposed to remote, full of musical insights.' Peter Williams, Notes

'With a wealth of erudition which extends from the classical and rhetorical foundations of Renaissance culture in Europe to the theorists of the Postmodern, a rigorous approach to his subject matter, and boundless energy, Paul Julian Smith has produced a model of deconstructional criticism. Paul Julian Smith deals with difficult subject matter with integrity and in a style which is engaging and direct ... critical work of this standing deserve - and will undoubtedly gain - the attention of an academic readership beyond the confines of the study of the Hispanic world.' J.A. Drinkwater, University of Leeds, Journal of Gender Studies, Volume 1, Number 4, November 1992

The ever-increasing number of performances of Bach's music is a sign of its enduring vitality. Yet there exists a diversity of interpretation of a magnitude that probably applies to no other composer. Assessing the varying merits of these interpretational approaches, and getting to grips with the sources and documents on which they are based, can be extremely difficult for a modern performer. Paul Badura-Skoda, who has been studying and performing Bach's keyboard music for more than forty years, here presents a host of valuable new insights drawn from his deep knowledge of the sources and of the problems of interpretation. He looks in detail at the various aspects of Bach's music, providing chapters on rhythm, tempo, articulation, and dynamics. He also examines the instruments for which Bach's music was intended, and discusses interpretational issues arising from this, as well as problems of sonority. The second part of the book is devoted to a comprehensible discussion of ornamentation with a detailed examination of the signs and symbols used by Bach. This discussion is prompted not only by its central importance to baroque music in general, but also because the author believes so much of Bach's ornamentation in current performance practice is monotonous and fails to correspond to the baroque style at all. Sometimes contentious, always stimulating, Paul Badura-Skoda's text conveys a passion for an informed interpretation of Bach's music based upon a recognition and respect for Bach's musical and intellectual intentions. Copiously illustrated throughout with music examples, Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard will take its place as a standard work for all students and performers of Bach's keyboard music.