amazing, highly recommended | Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra Nos. 1-5 & 7 (The Glenn Gould...

A review for readers unfamiliar with the | Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra Nos. 1-5 & 7 (The Glenn Gould Edition) | Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonard Bernstein, ...

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	• Bach: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra Nos. 1-5 & 7 (The Glenn Gould Edition) Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonard Bernstein, ... Sony, 1992 average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Best Performance Ever Achieved

This is a superlative recording of one of the most famous pieces by Kapellmeister Johann Sebastian Bach played by the best Bach interpreter, Mr. Glenn Gould. I value this recording so much that I often find myself avoiding listening to it too much because this recording is like a beautiful sunset, which should only be fully enjoyed when all the conditions are ideal. It is not a background music. I have owned this recording for many years, but I decided that I have no choice but to write a review now after reading a very gratuitous and childish review below by Mr. Bruno. While I do not care about the provincialism of others, I was very worried that some novices reading that review might be mislead and coerced away from this most delightful recording and miss the experience of a lifetime.

For those that do not know, Glenn Gould is considered to be the best Bach interpreter of this century by the vast majority of non-professional listeners and professional artists. Gould's performances have become a standard; so much so that any new Bach performance on a piano is almost immediately compared to Gould. True, there are some critics who believe that Gould uses too much staccato in some of Bach's compositions, but nevertheless, if we remember that most of these pieces Bach had composed for a harpsichord, which is a staccato instrument by nature, we can understand why Gould would select such a radical approach.

Bach's fugues are very complex and often the performer is faced with a challenge to communicate three, four, or even more melodies simultaneously. A romantic, legato performance hopelessly mixes all the notes together drowning any possibility of expressing all these melodies at the same time - at best, some of the melodies go into the background, e.g., the left hand notes, while other melodies, like the notes for the right hand, come to the surface. Only a very scrupulous listening can reveal these melodies buried in the background. What makes so many people to fall in love with Glenn Gould is his uncanny ability to not only express all the melodies distinctly at the same time, but also to bring his left and right hand notes together into a mellifluous, sometimes tempestuous, freely flowing melody. Everything is right there for you to listen to.

Even if you are one of those harsh critics who absolutely cannot accept a staccato performance, I am sure that you will still like this performance because the recording flows so well that one can't argue that Glenn uses too much staccato. I am not a listener who is limited only to Gould. I embrace many different styles of performances simply because no one interpretation is the "only way." If you are very interested to hear how else these compositions can be performed, such as more romantically, I recommend you listen to these same compositions played by Sviatoslav Richter, Murray Perahia, and Gustav Leonhardt (this is a harpsichord version). All three do an excellent job. You will also have the opportunity to compare these performances to Glenn Gould's interpretation. Additionally, I would recommend that you hear these concertos being performed on a violin (by Rachel Podger or Itzhak Perlman) and organ (by Karl Richter). After so many years and so many different recordings I have realized that Gould's performance is the absolute best. It doesn't mean there aren't other excellent recordings; it means that Glenn adds something extra to the performance that somehow when you combine those extra features with the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach, you suddenly seem to reinvent one of the greatest works of arts of the Western Civilization.

This recording is indeed breathtaking. I have read several books on Bach's works and his biography and I have to say that his genius is divine, yet I am not even religious! Mozart and Beethoven, among numerous other composers, have revered Bach and learned from him as well. At least for me, there has never been any composer as powerful as Herr Bach. If you are new to Bach, this recording is a great starting point. Make sure that you continue your reveling odyssey and listen to Bach's other greatest works - Goldberg Variations (Gould, 1955 and 1981), Violin Concertos (Podger), The Art of Fugue (Gould, Sokolov, or Emerson Quartet), Brandenburg Concertos (Alessandrini or Pinnock), Well-Tempered Klavier (Gould, Richter), and many more. If you have any questions about Bach and his performances, feel free to contact me (ekhekoyan at yahoo.com).

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amazing, highly recommended

I really, really love this CD. It's Glenn Gould AND Bach- what more can I ask for?

A review for readers unfamiliar with the

Amazon's editorial copy says "Glenn Gould was this century's greatest Bach player, so these legendary recordings are self-recommending." Puh-leeze.

I like Gould--a lot, actually--but that statement is like saying "Thelonious Monk was the 20th century's greatest jazz piano player, so this album of jazz standards contains definitive versions of these tunes". With Gould, like with Monk (when he plays tunes he didn't write), you are going to get a highly idiosyncratic version of any given piece. Marketing writers can be so lazy and/or intentionally misleading, and once a viral meme like "Glenn Gould is the greatest Bach player of the 20th century" or "Eric Clapton is the greatest blues-rock guitarist of the rock era" gets rolling, it's impossible to reign said meme in.

Most people on this page know this, but there may be a few who take all the reviews here--editorial and customer-generated--at face value.

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Bach's greatest interpreter.

There's a reason that people all over the world love Gould and praise him as the greatest interpreter of Bach's work; quite simply, he is. And for anyone who reads the previous negative review and takes it seriously, please consider that Amazon doesn't advocate censorship, but in all probability just deletes idiotic reviews.

"Don't be frightened, Mr. Gould is here ..."

I dare to say that nobody could even better perform with the same clarity and precision as those of Glenn Gould. He demonstrates why J.S. Bach is still the maestro of all masters of all time.

I'm a researcher, and believe it or not, I get my ideas when I listen to Bach. This collection is a must-to-listen for everybody who needs an illuminated inspiration in his/her subject.

Listen and enjoy.

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Glenn Gould was this century's greatest Bach player, so these legendary recordings are self-recommending. While other fine pianists have made powerful statements in this music, no one sounds anything like Gould. His phenomenal clarity of articulation, digital control, and well, just plain interesting way with the music set him completely apart from the competition. With playing of this individuality and quality, it's pointless to engage in any debate with respect to the appropriateness of the piano versus the harpsichord. Scholars and pedants may continue to argue, but the fact is, it doesn't matter. Great musicianship always serves great music best. --David Hurwitz

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Tracks
Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052: 1. Allegro | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052: 2. Adagio | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052: 3. Allegro | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053: 1. [Allegro] | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053: 2. Siciliano | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053: 3. Allegro | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 3 in D major, BWV 1054: 1. [Allegro] | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 3 in D major, BWV 1054: 2. Adagio e piano sempre | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 3 in D major, BWV 1054: 3. Allegro | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 4 in A major, BWV 1055: 1. Allegro | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 4 in A major, BWV 1055: 2. Larghetto | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 4 in A major, BWV 1055: 3. Allegro ma non tanto | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056: 1. [Allegro] | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056: 2. Largo | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056: 3. Presto | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058: 1. [Allegro] | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058: 2. Andante | Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058: 3. Allegro assai

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