Bach: 6 Partitas, BWV825-830

On this CD:

1. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Carl Seemann

2. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Carl Seemann

3. Partita for keyboard No. 4 in D major, BWV 828
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Carl Seemann

4. Partita for keyboard No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Carl Seemann

5. Partita for keyboard No. 5 in G major, BWV 829
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Carl Seemann

6. Partita for keyboard No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Carl Seemann

Customer Reviews:

The human touch.......2003-03-23

Like the other reviewers I must start off by thanking B. Johnson for bringing this recording to our attention.

Glenn Gould is a daunting figure to any professional or amateur pianist who endeavors bringing to life the works of Bach. I would guess the relatively few recordings of Bach played on the piano have much to do with Gould's total dominance in this domain.

Listening to Gould, one senses the divine, sometimes the demonic (eg. choices of tempo) but never the human touch. It's awe inspiring and very disheartening to piano players ( see another B. Johnson recommendation, Bernhard's "The Loser").

Carl Seeman is refreshingly human. His playing is refined and pure with much sensitivity. There are passages with a strong organ timbre, (like Gould, Seeman was an organist too). His partitas have a "correctness" about them. He is indeed the sane alternative to Gould.

Ultimately it's a question of temperament. Thrill, excitement and the conundrum posed as to "how does he do it" will most often override the alternative of sanity and refinement. Gould has left little room for others. Seeman has the honor of occupying part of that small space.

Welcome the reissue of these sublime performances.......2002-04-15

My thanks also to B. Johnson for his excellent review. He says with such clarity what I have felt about Seemann ever since I first heard his recordings back in the '60s. I thought I was the only one who felt that way, and it is gratifying to know that his genius is appreciated by others. Technique, clarity of tone, full understanding and consciousness of every note, phrase, and piece are how I would characterize his playing. And there is nothing of the eccentric or subjective about is interpretations. They come, one senses, from the music itself.

My first hearing of his playing was not Bach but a wonderful recording on American Decca of the Brahms Waltzes and a Haydn Sonata in E-flat and Variations in F Minor. The same qualities came through in these as I hear now in the Partitas (of which I had only heard the B-flat before). I have never heard anyone play those very non-simple waltzes without falling into at least a hint of frivolity. Seeman plays every one as if it were the greatest masterpiece, and yet with fluidity, clarity and a natural simplicity that only a master can elicit from them.

The Bach recording I heard from him was of six Little Preludes, the B-flat Partita, a glorious Chromatic Fantasy and a heavenly performance of the Tocatta in D. It all comes back now as I listen to all the Partitas. I hope the others will be forthcoming as well. I also am about to open the Brahms Violin Sonatas.

Legendary.......2002-01-25

Thanks to B. Johnson for his compelling review of this superb artist. Seeman's flawless technique, beautiful tone, and unerring sense of dynamics and rhythm provide a view of Bach that is as clean and unaffected as you could wish for on the piano. The pulse of the dance is there, the long lyrical line, the drama and emotional power that reveal the inexhaustable spirit of Bach shining through. Seemann fully realizes the expressive potential of the piano without romantic anachronism. I enjoy these performances more each time I hear them. Based on this album, Carl Seemann not only belongs among the great pianists of the 20th century, he is near the top.

A buried treasure........2001-12-11

Carl Seemann may be a name unfamiliar to even those devoted to studying and collecting the piano and its greatest performers. These discs, that belong on the shelves of every true Bach enthusiast and piano lover, illustrate how cruel history can be.

Growing up, Carl Seemann was a very familiar name to me. My Dad had quite a few records of his, mostly stemming from the mid to late fifties when he recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. His output was mostly devoted to solo works by the German classics and accompanying the violinist Schneiderhann in Mozart and Beethoven. In those days the two of them were considered in the same category as the Oistrach/Oborin duo. As a solo artist, especially his Mozart was remarkable. While his DG Mozart recordings must be close to 50 years old, they still represent my standard to playing Mozart on the piano. Let's hope that DG will reissue these recordings in future "Originals" releases, because I will be certain that many of the Seemann novices will amazed by his sense of style, that sounds simple but never naïve, relaxed and light but never dull or dumb.

Yet, Bach lovers rejoice, because we have something really special here. For me, this is the first true alternative to Gould on piano.

Looking at the current catalog of complete there are two clear choices for very different tastes.

First and foremost, Gould (my standard).
These are recordings from the late fifties and early sixties. The approach is hallmark Gould. There is complete understanding of the works, both in their structure, and in the sentiment (Bach used the word Affekt). Sometimes the tempi are extreme, and Gould's sense of articulation aimed at structural clarity has been described as "interventionalist " by Alfred Brendel. Yet, the result is hauntingly beautiful, and throughout the 6 works Bach's own voice comes through loud and clear.

Secondly, there is Schiff.
The recordings are more recent and of a higher quality. Schiff's great strength is in the plasticity of his rhythms and in the differentiation between the various dance formats. His approach is definitely more in the piano lingo, and staccatoes/portatoes are absent, while the tempi are more in line with what is considered to be historically accurate. My personal objection -and I admit, that it is entirely personal- is that Schiff sounds so bland and insignificant upon repeated listening. I simply have "Gestalt" problems with the character of the composer that emerges from Schiff's Bach interpretations. For me Bach definitely has an edgy site to his personality "the family room tyrant", that never emerges from Schiff's fingers.

Now we get Seemann.
In many respect this pianist represents a mix of Gould and Schiff, with a personality entirely it's own. Seemann chooses his tempos wisely, he never inclines to Gould's self-proclaimed "speed-demonship". His playing is devoid of right pedal use, is very clear and demonstrates a superb sense of counterpoint. Like Schiff, his approach to rhythm is very smooth with a masterly sense of (minimal) rubato; all his dances are beautifully diverse, and tempi are chosen to reflect diversity within the framework of each individual Partita.
However, to my ears, Seemann never ever sounds trivial. He is devoted to precisely performing every note that Bach wrote, and applies his tremendous skills in bringing Bach's "architecture of the emotion" to live, without short-changing it by any attempt at false ingratiation. He has a complete understanding of the music and the man behind it. His personal approach is gentle, but of German discipline and restraint, without ever becoming overbearingly "Teutonic". These recordings are so good, that pulling out any specific details shortchanges other equally impressive features. If I would choose one point of special merit, it is Seemann's performance of the Sarabandes. They are devoid of any tendency towards the romantic, strict in the gentlest of ways, lyrical and sentimental in the best sense of word.

The recordings stem from the mid-sixties. They are clearly not in the same league as the best that current technology has to offer, but sound decently and are low in noise.

I have studied all the Partitas myself and play movements of some of them daily. I think, Seemann has left us an interpretation that is true to both their notes and their spirit. This is a Bach performance that deserves a place among the truly great like Richter, Walcha, Milstein and Fournier. But don't take my word for it, buy these discs and let Seemann speak for Bach and himself.

Music Track:

Music Track

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