Customer Reviews

Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This magnificent performance must be considered the definitive Bach for our time. The independence of the individual voices is simply breathtaking. Gould plays each voice with its own sound--as many as four simultaneously. In the more complex fugues, the pianism is unique. Fischer, Richter, and Kocsis can stand in the wings. They use tons of pedal, which only serves to blur the individual voices. But, even when they are able to accomplish the fingerwork reasonably well, they can only produce contrapuntal effects that may be technically adequate, but are unable to even begin to approach Gould's singular ability to give each voice a sound of its own, while playing the voices against each other. What more can one say? Listen, and marvel. The likes of this level of playing will not be heard again in our lifetime. If you like this, get Gould's Italian Concerto by Bach, and you will be speechless.

I highly recommend this CD. It is breathlessly moving and a joy to listen to. It is simply one of the best I have ever heard.

This is Bach as music, not an academic exercise. Glenn Gould reveals the passion in this music. It will always be a mystery as to how anyone cannot love Mr. Gould's interpretation of Bach's music. He loved this music and that shows in his playing. Bach was not a middle class burgher, but a rebel in his time who quietly accepted nothing. His love of life and his struggle to maintain his dignity are in his music and Mr. Gould's interpretation of it will never be matched.

Gould's interpretation of Bach's music is well-known and there's no exeption with this album. I have two versions of Well-Tempered Clavier, one is played by Sviatoslav Richter, and the other by Gould. Frankly, Richter's version is great, too. Maybe I will call Richter's version fantastic and Gould's version colourful. If you really enjoy WTC, be sure to collect both great pianist's versions.

Gould plays theses pieces with incredible insight and with an astonishing virtuosity. Contrapuntal voices never blurr nor melt confusely as it often happen, and the whole work appears more moving et stimultating then the mere sum of exercices it, in fact, is. I have recordings of the work by Horzowski and by Feltsmans. Both are great but my preference goes to Gould, for the hypnotic effect he often achieve, like no other.

Gould mastered the Well-Tempered Clavier at a very early age, and in this recording, he plays with an incredible ease, aptly diging out the nuances and undertones these scores virtually contain. His playing is bursting in passions AND in intellectual intensity - one does not exclude the other as some might think a priori. Most fugues litterally put the well tempered listener in a trance-like state. Let's hope the "offended virgins" (vierges offensées) who had scorn Gould's playing because of his "eccentricity", are mere fading away echos of an insular, hidebounded epoch.

My first review of these discs was quite negative, but I changed my mind about Gould's WTC after some new listening. I first thought this recording was extremely bad and mechanic, but I learned to appreciate it over the time. It is still not my first-choice WTC (that honor goes to Sviatoslav Richter). I would surely recommend it though. Yes, there is really some bad stuff inside, especially the preludes in C major and C minor, but at least Gould brings some freshness to this music. The other preludes and fugues also contain a liveliness that no other WTC set has. Gould clearly loves the music. But I still found it somewhat too eccentric to make it my top recommendation. Richter delves more deeply into the real meaning of the notes, while Gould is sometimes too much a showman. An interesting one, though.

I found some of Gould's interpretations contraversial. The first prelude is choppy and staccato which didn't sit well with me. One of my favorite preludes, number 5 in D major, was played with a heavy thudding style which belies the light and lively spirit of the song. All of this makes sense when you read the CDs liner notes where Gould considers many of the preludes as mere apetizers to the fugal main courses. That pissed me off. If you're going to half-ass many of these pieces why bother to record them?

However, what I do love about Gould is the exciting rhythmic clarity he can bring. He was kind of a nympho when it came to fugues. You can even hear him moaning and groaning when certain fugues excited him. It's all a very erotic listening experience.

Idiosyncratic? Why does everyone use that word to describe Glenn Gould's playing? I find it cold and MECHANICAL - completely lacking in soul. I hear Superbly Controlled Note, Superbly Controlled Note, Superbly Controlled Note, Superbly Controlled Note...etc., etc... I could just as easily be listening to a sewing machine.

I am a person who will not keep multiple versions (by different performers) for a specific record, and this is the version that made me spent extra! I always believe that if I commit a purchase, that will be the only copy that will keep me accompany for many years, and I would rather spend the money on other recordings and give myself more variety in classical music. To be fair, I have to admit that I can't tell how well he had interpreted this work by Bach, as commented by many other reviewers. As far as I am concern, in term of personal preference and individual expectation, this set had failed me completely!

I bought both WTC Book 1 and 2 by Glenn Gould recently but was extremely disappointed. I like the music very much but I hate the way he played this beautiful piece. It is annoying and frustrating to hear the mumbling throughout his playing! Guess what I did after listening to all the 4 discs? I went to buy WTC Book 1 again by Andras Schiff (London Decca) and immediately I realize the differences - Schiff's version is definitely the version that I will strongly recommend. Just few words to describe - Clarity, Pleasant, and Excellent Recording! I have no hesitation to buy the Book 2 (by Andras Schiff too).

Rating for Glenn Gould's version? I am only willing to give 1 star (both Book 1 and 2). Don't buy this 2 records unless you like his "unique" style of playing...