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As a young pianist, András Schiff earned wide esteem for his 1980s recordings of the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach; in recent years, as part of his long term relationship with ECM, he has gone back to Bach as a sage veteran, earning more acclaim for his New Series recordings of the Goldberg Variations (2003) and the six Partitas (2009). Now, using his own Steinway, Schiff turns his focus to the 48 preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier, making studio recordings in Lugano of both books for this 4-CD set.
An iconic inspiration for composers from Mozart and Beethoven to Chopin and Brahms and beyond, The Well-Tempered Clavier has long been considered the Old Testament of the keyboard literature (with Beethoven’s piano sonatas as the New Testament). In his liner notes, Paul Griffiths underscores the suitability of Bach’s timeless keyboard work for the modern piano: “Bach’s inquiry into so many nuances, of touch, of interplay between hands and between contrapuntal lines, of character and of expressivity, has helped form keyboard technique as we know it, and his music belongs to the instrument of Beethoven, of Chopin, of Debussy, of Kurtág - especially when that instrument is played with the mastery and sensitivity of Schiff in these performances (...) Noteworthy is his floated melody and his rhythmic sense - his realization that so much of Bach’s music is song or dance. Grandeur and intimacy are also here. Wit, too.” In the introduction to his ECM release of Bach’s Partitas, Schiff laid out his motivation for revisiting music he first recorded two decades before: “Great music is far greater than its performers. We try our entire lives to unveil its secrets and to convey its unique message. Even if we never quite reach the imaginary goal, our many performances give us experience and knowledge that were hidden from us years ago. We form a better understanding of its structure and inner workings. Horizons broaden before our eyes.”
Bach, J S: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869
Präludium C-Dur, BWV 846
Fuge C-Dur, BWV 846
Präludium c-Moll, BWV 847
Fuge c-Moll, BWV 847
Präludium Cis-Dur, BWV 848
Fuge Cis-Dur, BWV 848
Präludium cis-Moll, BWV 849
Fuge cis-Moll, BWV 849
Präludium D-Dur, BWV 850
Fuge D-Dur, BWV 850
Präludium d-Moll, BWV 851
Fuge d-Moll, BWV 851
Präludium Es-Dur, BWV 852
Fuge Es-Dur, BWV 852
Präludium es-Moll/dis-Moll, BWV 853
Fuge es-Moll/dis-Moll, BWV 853
Präludium E-Dur, BWV 854
Fuge E-Dur, BWV 854
Präludium e-Moll, BWV 855
Fuge e-Moll, BWV 855
Präludium F-Dur, BWV 856
Fuge F-Dur, BWV 856
Präludium f-Moll, BWV 857
Fuge f-Moll, BWV 857
Präludium Fis-Dur, BWV 858
Fuge Fis-Dur, BWV 858
Präludium fis-Moll, BWV 859
Fuge fis-Moll, BWV 859
Präludium G-Dur, BWV 860
Fuge G-Dur, BWV 860
Präludium g-Moll, BWV 861
Fuge g-Moll, BWV 861
Präludium As-Dur, BWV 862
Fuge As-Dur, BWV 862
Präludium gis-Moll, BWV 863
Fuge gis-Moll, BWV 863
Präludium A-Dur, BWV 864
Fuge A-Dur, BWV 864
Präludium a-Moll, BWV 865
Fuge a-Moll, BWV 865
Präludium B-Dur, BWV 866
Fuge B-Dur, BWV 866
Präludium b-Moll, BWV 867
Fuge b-Moll, BWV 867
Präludium H-Dur, BWV 868
Fuge H-Dur, BWV 868
Präludium h-Moll, BWV 869
Fuge h-Moll, BWV 869
Bach, J S: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier: Book 2, BWV 870-893
Präludium C-Dur, BWV 870
Fuge C-Dur, BWV 870
Präludium c-Moll, BWV 871
Fuge c-Moll, BWV 871
Präludium Cis-Dur, BWV 872
Fuge Cis-Dur, BWV 872
Präludium cis-Moll, BWV 873
Fuge cis-Moll, BWV 873
Präludium D-Dur, BWV 874
Fuge D-Dur, BWV 874
Präludium d-Moll, BWV 875
Fuge d-Moll, BWV 875
Präludium Es-Dur, BWV 876
Fuge Es-Dur, BWV 876
Präludium dis-Moll, BWV 877
Fuge dis-Moll, BWV 877
Präludium E-Dur, BWV 878
Fuge E-Dur, BWV 878
Präludium e-Moll, BWV 879
Fuge e-Moll, BWV 879
Präludium F-Dur, BWV 880
Fuge F-Dur, BWV 880
Präludium f-Moll, BWV 881
Fuge f-Moll, BWV 881
Präludium Fis-Dur, BWV 882
Fuge Fis-Dur, BWV 882
Präludium fis-Moll, BWV 883
Fuge fis-Moll, BWV 883
Präludium G-Dur, BWV 884
Fuge G-Dur, BWV 884
Präludium g-Moll, BWV 885
Fuge g-Moll, BWV 885
Präludium As-Dur, BWV 886
Fuge As-Dur, BWV 886
Präludium gis-Moll, BWV 887
Fuge gis-Moll, BWV 887
Präludium A-Dur, BWV 888
Fuge A-Dur, BWV 888
Präludium a-Moll, BWV 889
Fuge a-Moll, BWV 889
Präludium B-Dur, BWV 890
Fuge B-Dur, BWV 890
Präludium b-Moll, BWV 891
Fuge b-Moll, BWV 891
Präludium H-Dur, BWV 892
Fuge H-Dur, BWV 892
Präludium h-Moll, BWV 893
Fuge h-Moll, BWV 893
15th September 2012
****
“Schiff admits he now dislikes the sentimentality of some of his earlier Bach recordings; and this one is certainly clear of such emotional indulgences...the result is a supremely classical rendition of one of classical music's keynote works, blessed with an almost transparent clarity.”
14th September 2012
****
“Schiff plays with hands alone, avoiding sounds that linger and fade for the delights of the sober, the centred, and clean. Impersonal playing? Not at all.
But the personality on display is Bach’s rather than Schiff’s. And full pleasure comes with close concentration as Schiff, without frills or deviation, leads us straight to the music’s heart.”
20th September 2012
****
“the clean, limpid textures of these performances are one of their most striking characteristics. Another is the sense of rightness about almost every tempo that Schiff adopts; nothing seems hurried or laboured...the playing is so immaculate and projects such authority that it seems churlish to want it step out of its carefully thought-out character.”
28th September 2012
“Schiff’s approach is informed by a judicious range of expression.”
21st October 2012
“he makes sparing use of the sustain pedal, advocating its use “intelligently and discreetly”, and comparing the effect to a string player’s use of vibrato...Schiff looks backwards to the more emotional Bach of old-school pianists, while acknowledging the stylistic input of harpsichordists, but his playing has joy and brilliance, as well as depth”
December 2012
****
“more like an than a rejection of his youthful preoccupations...Schiff's Bach sings and dances, and has a clarity derived from a mesmerising touch and an aversion to the sustain pedal. The crucial organic relationship he establishes between prelude and fugue, meanwhile, remains unimpeachable...Schiff's new set doesn't replace the old; it complements it.”
November 2012
“His new Well-Tempered Clavier reveals many instances of interpretative refinements and rethinking...To be sure, Schiff does not always surpass his younger self. The Book 2 B flat major Prelude's newly calibrated linear profile misses the earlier traversal's suppleness and humour...Reservations aside, Schiff remains a stimulating Bach pianist who happily refuses to rest on his discographical laurels.”
New York Times
23rd November 2012
“Playing with crystalline clarity and a rhythmic buoyancy that highlights the works’ dance elements, Mr. Schiff reveals the contrapuntal brilliance and the joy, wit and melancholy of these 24 preludes and fugues.”
January 2013
“He presents each prelude and fugue as a carefully polished gem. Not using the sustaining pedal helps give the impression of separation between notes - as one hears more on a harpsichord. This serves to bring out the rhythms of the pieces. His ornamentation is subtle and limited, but one gets the feeling that it is just right...a fine recording of Bach’s great preludes and fugues - one that even those hesitant to listen to the work on a modern piano should seek out.”
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Präludium C-Dur, BWV 846
