What do you think of this three minute clip from "The Well Tempered Clavier?" I love it! The clarity, the sensitivity to what Bach seems to be saying, the fun...it's a terrific recording! The thing is, the Canadian pianist who made it is believed by the police to be a crook!
Well, the guy's personal life doesn't seem to influence his playing. Give a listen to this fast, Glenn Gould-style rendition of an earlier part of the Well Tempered Clavier. It's incredible! For me this is a must have CD.
12 comments:
A fan of Bach can't be all that bad. The Double Violin Concerto is just magic, in fact I'm going to listen to it now. :)
Wow, this guy sounds great. Amazing how people can live two lives like that!
You a Glenn Gould fan Eddie? Personally I love how authoritative he is in his musical opinions. There's a great clip of him playing Bach while talking to a musicologist and he pauses and says "that's a mistake, had Bach lived he would have fixed that."
I find his opinions on performance and dislike of audience quite interesting. Whenever I watch a piano concert on PBS the focus always seems to be "look at this incredibly skilled person playing this impossibly difficult piece!" than on the music itself so I see where he was coming from.
Anon: Glenn Gould was terrific, but I'm glad we have other versions. The second video I put up has Erez playing almost as fast as Gould, but even more clear, which is quite an accomplishment. Erez has been influenced by Gould, you can tell.
Alberto: You're right. That Double Violin Concerto is an amazing piece of music!
Damiano: Some people can divide their minds into seperate compartments. I just watched a crime show where a brutal serial killer was a good husband and father, and a revered neighbor. Go figure!
I've no problems with good modern interpretations of Bach but it's good to know that pianos were not around when Bach composed. These pieces were written for the Harpsichord and as such, the way that they were written favors the harpsichord. There's also something to be said for playing at the proper tempo. Fast is impressive but you can miss some very moving, nuanced phrasing that only a well tempered clavier can provide.
Eddie, I respectfully disagree. Erez & Gould both suck. Gould sucks faster. They both sound like those Suzuki child prodigies.
Full points for staying on beat & manual dexterity.
Just because Gould didn't have an inanely romantic and "expressive" playing style doesn't make him some kind of cold heartless technician.
Inane is the word for Gould. The only expression in his recordings is his heavy breathing.
Everybody (nearly): I like Gould. Way back when, when I was in high school and was just getting aquainted with Bach, classical fans I knew warned me away from The Well Tempered Clavier. They said it was boring, and was only for trained musicians. The radio hardly ever played it. Over time Gould changed all that. Now every Bach enthusiast has at least one recorded version of it, usually more. They all have the 1955 Gould version, even if they say they hate it.
Mr. Erez is the most phenomenal pianist of this century in my opinion. And all that garbage about the alleged ponzi scheme has not ever been proven in any criminal court; therefore, he is INNOCENT.
Besides, no one knows what REALLY happened anyway. The media always gets their facts WRONG so who can trust THEM? I don't...
is tzvi erez gay? not that it matters. just wondering. I think he is. I might have a guy for him.
Not gay. Divorced with children.
Post a Comment