Arthur Loesser, 1894-1969, was a wonderful pianist and a very funny man.
He studied with Sigismund Stojowski at the Institute of Musical Art (now Juillard).
He toured the world giving concerts beginning 1913 in Berlin.
He joined the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1926 and became head of the department in 1953
His book "Men,Women and Pianos.a social history." proved to be a best-seller.
Arthur was half-brother to Frank Loesser the Broadway composer.
Loesser was particularly well known for his Bach recitals and had been practicing for a concert that would include the Goldberg Variations when he was struck down by the heart attack that proved fatal.
His very amusing and popular evenings of illustrated recitals included music by composers from "inside the piano stool".
These covered such luminaries as Kocwara and his "The Battle of Prague" and Tekia Badarzewski Babanowska and her "A Maiden's Prayer".
Loesser was President and one of the founders of the international Piano Library.
I picked up a recording of one of these evening entitled "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" done in New York and couldn't stop laughing
Bach's Well Tempered Clavier is one of the towering works that you will almost certainly want to eventually explore in a number of alternative recordings. I have 7 or 8. Glenn Gould's is a work of genius... although it arguably has its eccentricities, so I would hold back on making it my first choice. Richter takes too much of a Romantic approach to Bach. I would personally go with Angela Hewitt's first recording or Andras Schiff's... followed by Rosalyn Tureck and Gould.
Maybe it depends on how familiar one is with Baroque keyboard music, and fugues in general. I like Sergey Schepkin, Book II in particular - but for anyone who has difficulty hearing the voices in the fugues, Arthur Loesser's interpretations are entrancing, even delightful. The only requirement is a tolerance for a notably less-than-perfect piano; easy for me, but I know of professional pianists who have managed it.
The Loesser recorded by Teldec, to LPs. There was a CD issue, shortly before Teldec went under. Looks like Doremi picked it up, but it ain't cheap, at amazon.com anyway.
Edit: Oops, that's Telarc, another beastie fer sure.
Glenn Gould. Because his playing is very precise and articulated, meaning you can hear the inner voices as well. He plays with a supreme intelligence, as if he were the master himself, or had some sort of connection to him. When it's fast, it's very thrilling; when it's slow, it's profound. Also, the recordings are close-miked, without too much hall echo (which spoils the otherwise good Sviatoslav Richter version).
Also, there's a Friedrich Gulda 2-fer on Philips that's good. Good recording, and I agree with many of his tempo choices.
Glenn Gould. Because his playing is very precise and articulated, meaning you can hear the inner voices as well. He plays with a supreme intelligence, as if he were the master himself, or had some sort of connection to him. When it's fast, it's very thrilling; when it's slow, it's profound. Also, the recordings are close-miked, without too much hall echo (which spoils the otherwise good Sviatoslav Richter version).
Also, there's a Friedrich Gulda 2-fer on Philips that's good. Good recording, and I agree with many of his tempo choices.
This is quite true. Here's a great example, the fugue in E major from the WTC II:
fast:
slow:
It's absolutely amazing how the same piece can be so widely expressive. The two different versions are really great in the own right!. Both have their individual personalities and details.
Dear St Luke, what's your take on the latest Schiff offering?
I haven't heard the 2011/12 recording. I have his earlier recording from the 90s... but from the reviews I've read it looks like I'll need to add it to my list.
TT, if you're buying GG WTC I & II as new CDs (which is a wise decision), I think you'll find the latest reissue (4 CDs) is the least expensive. :tiphat:
My favorite is Rosalyn Tureck (the 1953 recording reissued by Deutsche Grammophon).
I used to like Gould (it was my first hearing of the set). But over the years, it has gone too weird, too idiosyncratic for me. And the humming doesn't help.
I also like very much Angela Hewitt (I have only her first recording of the late 1990's, don't know about the 2008 recording) and Andras Schiff.
On harpsichord, I like Gustav Leonhardt, Koopman. And I love Ralph Kirkpatrick's version on clavichord.
I'd certainly agree with Feinberg as being the greatest of the ones i've heard, but it might prove expensive to obtain. Other than that Ashkenazy's recent recording on Decca is perfectly competent and beautiful despite it not being his usual repertoire.
I'd certainly agree with Feinberg as being the greatest of the ones i've heard, but it might prove expensive to obtain. Other than that Ashkenazy's recent recording on Decca is perfectly competent and beautiful despite it not being his usual repertoire.
I was initially underwhelmed with the Ashkenazy, but on subsequent listens I've come to really appreciate it. I prefer it to Richter or Gould. I have only heard Hewitt's WTC on harpsichord and haven't heard Feinberg yet. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the recommendations in this thread.
My obvious choice is the Canadian Master but if I had to pick a mere mortal, I've always liked Vladimir Feltsman's approach and delivery of Bach in general. The WTC is a great example of this.
Have you decided which ones to go with yet, TinyTim?
If not, here are my suggestions:
If you're one of those people who like their stuff on period instruments and want authenticity, then I'd say Bob van Asperen's WTC I/II on the harpsichord (or Gustav Leonhardt, his mentor).
If you want something with a bit more feel to it and don't mind it being played on a modern piano, then I'm with everyone else on Glenn Gould. (Gould's Goldberg Variations 1955 and 1981 are also must-haves.)
Good luck!
PS: Hello to a fellow pacific northwester :tiphat:
Richter was the first set I got and I like it a lot. I have many very good memories with this recording, I must have listened to it many dozen of hours and I absolutely do not get bored with it.
Nowadays you can buy a good, famous set and still explore beyond that using internet, archives, library, etc.
So maybe you should just get one "safe" choice (safe, not boring) and continue to explore. It's particularly interesting in the music fof Bach, since there's so little written, it's so dense... it gives a lot of interpretative freedom.
I'm sure it's a long journey - I'm only at the beginning of it myself.
The hardest choice is actually whether or not you'll buy an HIP recording. The music can be very different, almost like it's from an other composer, depending on how it's played and the instrument used.
If you do the research, you may locate a set recorded on harpsichord and arranged in the 'circle of fifths' order. The interpretations will probably be very safe.
Schiiff's last attempt is very good and different from most offerings. I also would recommend Hewitt's last offering as well mostly because she is better with a Fazioli than a Steinway.
All my life,which is long,I've seen it referred to as Welltempered---where did you dig this other stuff up from ?
If people look at Wikipedia they can see what this means.
Abdel Rahman El Bacha's set of Book I on the Triton label is a fine modern recording with stunning SACD audio. I assume he will get around to Book II eventually.
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