Bach: The Toccatas, BWV 910-916

On this CD:

1. Toccata for keyboard in D minor, BWV 913
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

2. Toccata for keyboard in E minor, BWV 914
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

3. Toccata for keyboard in G minor, BWV 915
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

4. Toccata for keyboard in D major, BWV 912
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

5. Toccata for keyboard in C minor, BWV 911
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

6. Toccata for keyboard in F sharp minor, BWV 910
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

7. Toccata for keyboard in G major, BWV 916
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ursula Dutschler

Bach: The Toccatas, BWV 910-916, Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ursula Duetschler, Ursula Dutschler, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Keyboard, Toccata for Keyboard

Average customer rating:

Bach Would be Smiling

Did not like it at all

Hewitt tames the Toccatas

Good, average...

A.H. is among the very bests

Bach: The Toccatas
Johann Sebastian Bach , and Angela Hewitt
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000069CVA
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Tracks:

Toccata in C minor
Toccata in G major
Toccata in F sharm minor
Toccata in E minor
Toccata in D minor
Toccata in G minor
Toccata in D major

Amazon.com

A toccata--from the Italian word meaning "to touch"--was originally a glorified keyboard warm-up, in which scales and arpeggios were tossed off with improvisatory abandon. But as Angela Hewitt shows, Bach's youthful forays into this genre were finely wrought gems, masterpieces in miniature. This dazzling CD matches the extraordinarily high standards she has set herself in the complete keyboard Bach she is building up year by year. Her touch is springy and muscular, her pulse rock-steady; the more anarchic Bach's fancy becomes, the more rigorously she controls its expression. Taking her cue from the absence of autograph manuscripts, she puts these works into a satisfying running order, so we can savor them as we would at a recital. The liner notes are--as usual with this coruscating communicator--a performance in themselves. Musical commentary is seldom so fresh, or so illuminating for those who want to follow in her footsteps. And yes, she makes a brilliant case for the piano in Bach: in these 65 glorious minutes, there's not one dull moment. --Michael Church

Customer Reviews:

Bach Would be Smiling.......2006-12-22

Listen to the Fugue from BWV 915 (No 6 on this Album) and try not to smile. It is pleasant and bouncy and irresistable. I keep playing this part over and over. Angela Hewitt plays it freely and boldly like a child skipping in the park.

She plays cleanly and accutrately, but what adds to the beauty is how improvisational she sounds; and we know the Baroque masters excelled at improvisation.

Did not like it at all.......2006-09-12

I really did not like it at all. It looks like all the magic that Gould did put in those pieces is gone. Gould's interpretation is an introspective journey in a music that seems to be just born under his fingers.
A total dispointment after reading other reviews.

Hewitt tames the Toccatas.......2005-08-17

Many know the famous story of how an eager, young Bach journeyed 10 days by foot to a distant village to hear the great organist Buxtehude, staying many months longer than he was given permission. It is fortunate probably that he stayed so long to learn from this master - for such early yet luminous works like the toccatas here clearly show the influence of this virtuositic organist and his free, improvisatorial manner of composing (termed "stylus fantasticus"). In her abundant and well-written liner notes, Hewitt quotes one authority on this style: "It is the most free and unrestrained method of composing; it is bound to nothing, neither to words nor to a melodic subject; it was instituted to display genius and to teach hidden design of harmony and the ingenious composition of harmonic phrases and fugues." While not purposely written as a grouping or teaching tool, these seven so-called Toccatas were assembled together based on these characteristics. They are free displays of virtuosity with daring runs of scales, arpeggios and the like - music full of vitality yet free of form for the most part.

The 2005 Gramophone Guide gave this CD the top "Gold Star" rating (3/3 stars) and concluded: "Her performances could hardly be more stylish or impeccable, more vital or refined. Hewitt's playing is personal and characterful without resorting to self-serving or distorting idiosyncracy." Moreover, the Penguin Guide summarized this recording this way: "We have no hesitation in declaring this the most stimulating and rewarding CD of these complex and episodic works on any instrument, consistently showing Bach's youthful explorations at their most stimulating."

Indeed, there is much variety, inventiveness and drama in this music that Angela Hewitt brings out to the fullest - from the songful and even contemplative slower interludes to rippling demisemiquaver scales that open some pieces to the powerful, complex fugues. Perhaps the richest aspect of Hewitt's playing here is her ability to skillfully and subtly shape the repeating episodes within the fugues by her nuances of color and dynamics. Many of these fugues have short themes that Bach incessently repeats throughout the piece (a famous trait of Bach that he is able to pull off to great effect). With most composers or playing, such repeated motiffs would quickly become monotonous or grating to the ear - as some Toccatas can be on the harpsichord as Hewitt points out. But, with Bach's skillful contrapunctal writing and Hewitt's imaginative playing, she transforms these repetative fugal sections into music of wonderous appeal and fascination - building an unfolding drama within the piece to great effect. The G-minor and D-minor Tocattas are fine examples of how Hewitt's subtle touches transforms these incessent fugues into lumanscent wonders.

One recording of the Toccata in C-minor that is quite interesting by comparison is that of Martha Argerich. While not noted for her playing of Bach, Miss Argerich in the early 80's put to disc a dynamic performance of this Toccata (along with a Partita and English suite on DG). Where Ms. Argerich's bold performance reminds one of Bach's legendary powerful tone and command, Hewitt's touch is worlds apart in its subtltry, charm, inflection and nuance. Hearing Argerich's version along side Angela Hewitt's performance helps to illuminate Miss Hewitt's style more clearly - which is one of longer, more-lyrical flow with a notably beautiful tone and something intangible that might be best called a "heartfelt quality." Hewitt's C-minor Toccata exudes a more songful flow and subtle artistry compared to Argerich's more punchy and "intellectual" reading. Actually, Hewitt's reading can easily be described as "pretty" by comparison (perhaps too pretty for some). She is always a pianist and utilizes the greater expressive range of her Steinway to achieve maximum emotional qualities and tonal beauty.

So, overall, Angela Hewitt's Toccatas are at the top of the class as Penguin Guide and Gramophone notes. With repeated listening, it has become a favorite of her entire discography - part for Bach's fascinating composing and part from Hewitt's sparkling and full-of-life pianism. Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound quality - 4.5 stars.

Good, average..........2005-07-07

All things considered, this performance is far less impressive and interesting than Gould's. Counterpoint lacks, very quiet and smooth playing, no flagrant and uprising dynamics shifting. No take offs, no surprise. Ideal as muzak, in elevator or restaurant.

A.H. is among the very bests.......2005-04-15

First I sent my opinion to my friend, a man of erudition -he was who bid me to publish it here. Maybe this is premature a bit.

To form a better opinion of these recordings I had to listen several times with maximum attention. So now I can write more about the two Hewitt discs, the Bach Toccatas (comparison: Glenn Gould) and the Italian Concerto etc. disc.
The latest development in Bach pianism (and also in playing Beethoven Quartets) is that perfect technique is not an unreachable goal but an obvious point of origin. Looking at today's greatest Bach master, Koroljev, he reached , we believe, unsurpassable perfection exactly this way. To achieve this, several months of seclusion and monastic concentration is required.
Hewitt is also among the giants. Different from Koroliev, she doesn't worry about one-hundredth of seconds, but instead we are rewarded with an increased joy of life. This is Bach we dream about, we know about but couldn't attain. Koroliev's Bach is heavenly, but Glenn Gould's Toccatas are examples of a deeply involved and serious savage subjectivity.
Hewitt knows that seriousness is not the voice of passion. Homage, but not worship. The piano toccatas lead us into a different world than the organ toccatas. The organ toccatas in spite of all their grandeur are still just organ pieces. The piano toccatas, however, are stylized; they are like suites and serious tests of endurance. This CD is the opposite side of the Capriccios, but Hewitt's both sides are wonderful. She understands the Bach spirit completely. She is not hammering, but not too light hearted either. Has weight, but not heavy like of the previous generation, say Brendel. Just as much as needed. Maybe this is her real strength.

Average customer rating:

Quirky as usual, but (at moments) transcendent
So where are the three and two part inventions?
When does 2+0=3? Answer below.
He waited too long
Early Bach, great Gould

Bach: 7 Toccatas BWV 910-916

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000028NM
Release Date: 1994-04-19

Tracks:

Toccata In D Major, BWV 912
Toccata In F-Sharp Minor, BWV 910
Toccata In D Minor, BWV 913

Tracks:

Toccata In C Minor, BWV 911
Toccata In G Minor, BWV 915
Toccata In G Major, BWV 916
Toccata In E Minor, BWV 9147

Amazon.com

These pieces are all early works--the first evidence of Bach's great mastery as a composer for the keyboard. A toccata comes from the Italian (and French, and Spanish) verb meaning "to touch" or "to play an instrument." It's a type of written down improvisation, in which the player "tries out" his instrument with passages requiring great speed, extremes of dynamic both loud and soft, and finally a sustained chunk of music in several parts, generally a fugue. As Gould is the greatest (and most eccentric) Bach pianist in history, his performances are powerfully persuasive. Most importantly, they have a freely improvisational quality which makes the music sound fresh and always surprising. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Quirky as usual, but (at moments) transcendent.......2006-09-09

Gould probably had his personal list of Bach pieces he didn't particularly care for (that is, as much as the GV or the Art of the Fugue) - Chromatic Fantasy, Italian Concerto, the keyboard concertos, and these toccatas. Yet, his recordings of these "disdained" pieces are often very interesting.

These toccatas are somewhat uneven - you don't know what surprises Gould's going to pull out of his oversized coat after the next fermata. In general, the fugal passages are brilliant, stunning, revelatory, and carry an almost religious sort of clarity. But the improvisational passages sound forced, pedantic, and over-analyzed.

One reviewer professes that he found the D minor toccata "boring." I disagree. I thought it was the highlight of the set. I don't like hyperbolizing, but the final allegro section of the D minor is probably my favorite 4-minute passage of Bach. Glenn Gould + Profuse Contrapuntalism = Life is Good.

Some of the other pieces are more problematic. The D major Vivace is put through the usual introspective analysis that leaves it dried and charred, sounding more like a dry dissertation than the Happy Music it's supposed to be. Reminds me of Gould's quite unlistenable late Beethoven sonatas. As an (inferior) pianist I also "disagree" with most of his extreme tempi and dynamics. I believe dynamical extremes (like the ppp-f contrasts that occur throughout) aren't appropriate for Bach. Nonetheless, I accept that as Gould's style. I'll take his boldness and provocation over textbook-correctness any day.

So where are the three and two part inventions?.......2001-10-19

Before the Glenn Gould Edition was created, most of the Glenn Gould discography was availible on CBS recordings. The toccatas and the two and three part inventions were coupled together on two CD's, but apparently Sony Classical thought it would be better to take away the two and three part inventions from the set and sell it separately. This is the same company that turned the talentless Charlotte Church into a star and didn't allow Philips Classics to allow the best works of Glenn Gould in their "Great Pianists of the 20th century" series.

ANyhow, the toccatas are a particular favorite of mine. These are relatively early keyboard works of Bach, yet they somehow are one of his most dramatic outputs. Glenn Gould certainly brings these works to light.

I would like to bring attention to three stunning toccatas in particular the c-minor, e-minor, and d-minor.

The c-minor is a stunning display of counterpoint at the highest speed possible. My goodness, the final two sections of this toccata just has to be heard. The last section in particular has two subjects that are completely different, yet Gould manages to play it with an incredible discipline and control.

The e-minor is a joy to listen to and the last section of it is outstanding. The d-minor is a complete tour de force. It is a powerful work and it certainly allows Gould to take his time and essentially build up the tension until the final section where his counterpuntal mastery takes over to a sheer outburst of passion.

When does 2+0=3? Answer below........2001-03-11

Sony Classical bought CBS Records a number of years ago, and they have wasted no time in repackaging Glenn Gould's recordings to effectively raise the cost to the consumer. These CDs illustrate the point. Before Sony entered the picture, CBS offered the complete Bach Toccatas, complete Two-Part Inventions, and complete Three-Part Inventions on 2 CDs. Sony removed the Inventions from the set, leaving you with the Toccatas alone at the same price! The Inventions are still available from Sony, but now on a separate CD. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that two CBS CDs (plus nothing more) = three Sony CDs, in effect a 50% price hike. Which is music to Sony's ears, no doubt.

Five stars for Glenn Gould, no stars for Sony.

He waited too long.......2001-02-15

I've been a committed Glenn Gould fan for more than 20 years, listening to almost everything he ever recorded and reading deeply into the Gould literature. Generally I find his performances engrossing and stimulating. And I like these pieces: I play them myself on harpsichord and organ. They're not Bach's best work, but they're still effective if played with dramatic flair, like the music of Bohm and Buxtehude.

Within that context, I think Gould's set of the Bach Toccatas is far below his own phenomenal standards. Some of his recordings really deserve five stars, such as his WTC or his 1955 Goldbergs or his Brahms intermezzi or his Schoenberg. But this set is far from those. Dramatic and improvisatory pieces such as these just weren't Gould's cup of tea (or bottle of Poland water). He didn't like them, and he tried to make them into something they're not.

Gould's way with the e minor is the best of the set. He did this one in 1963 when he was still playing Bach more naturally than cerebrally (or deconstructively, or whatever). He uses subtle rubato, natural dynamic gradation, and conveys easy musicality. There is no especially odd ornamentation or affected arpeggiation. The performance flows well. The sound is dimmer than in the other toccatas, but the playing is so much more alive. This terrific performance shows that Gould *was* aware of the drama in the toccatas...he just chose to stop playing them that way later.

I can pretty well tolerate his performances of the G major, g minor, and c minor, all from 1979, though I'm not particularly excited about them either. His clarity and momentum go a long way toward projecting these pieces (it's one way to play them...). The performances are one-dimensional overall: rhythmically stiff and hard-driven. Yes, even the slow sections are stiff, and the c minor's second section is unbelievably slow. On the surface, the fast parts sound lively with Gould's aggressive articulation, but there are some long stretches of unvaried touch that get monotonous.

Now, the bad news: the rest of them, from 1976. The d minor is a boring performance (by Gould standards). I have listened to it repeatedly and still keep wandering away every time. Somehow it seems like a "contractual obligation" performance, like some of his Mozart. Gould doesn't sound particularly involved with or committed to the music, but merely gets all the notes with little inflection or direction. So what?

His performance of the D major is frustratingly anti-physical, and this is Bach's most obviously exuberant toccata! It needs the flash, the flourish, the panache. This is the Gould of the experimental Beethoven "Appassionata" of ten years earlier: he slows it way down, dissects it motivically, drains the lifeblood out of it. The result is interesting, but it's not Bach. And as with the "Appassionata," Gould spends the last few minutes halfway redeeming himself by playing cleanly and normally. If he was going to deconstruct the piece anyway, why not finish the job?

The f# minor is a willful mess. Gould pulls out his eccentric tricks that also plague the English Suites 3-6 and the violin sonatas (all his Bach from 1974-6!): artificial staccatos, extreme tempos, arbitrarily mannered arpeggiations, very measured trills. It's a display of excessive control and clever idiosyncracy rather than going with the flow and bigger gestures of the music. Even his rubato is stiff: he places every note, rather than letting them happen in natural groupings. And he omits 14 bars, presumably in an attempt to improve the composition! Technically, some of the splice points in fast sections are too obvious and distracting. Yes, the performance holds the attention, but there's just too much that's weird about it to convince me. (His recording with Leonard Rose of the viola da gamba sonatas is even weirder, but redeemed by being more playful.) The tricks were plentiful in the D major, too, but that one was already lost with his anti-dramatic approach. What was he thinking?

If I sound rough on Gould in my disenchantment with these performances, at least it's consistent: I think all his solo Bach recorded before 1970 is marvelous, but then it dropped off quickly after that. His style went around the bend there in the 1970's. It changed from "Bach's music as played by Glenn Gould" to "Glenn Gould's didactic ideas about Bach." It seemed that he stopped trusting Bach's ability to make points on his own. He started coloring the music with heavy fluorescent markers rather than simply playing it. Cerebral dissection replaced straightforward joy and physical expression. Naturally dynamic phrasing and articulation went out the window. Artifice replaced art.

Recorded over a span of 16 years, this set of the Toccatas is a microcosm of those changes in Gould's approach to Bach. He sounds like four different people here: one with a naturally musical style and a sense of fun playing Bach, but the other three too concerned with being Glenn Gould.

To sum up, I wish Gould had gone ahead with all seven of the toccatas in the mid-1960's when he recorded the e minor. This set could have been great, but it's just too uneven and bizarre to earn more than two stars.

Early Bach, great Gould.......2001-01-17

Even while the keyboard Toccatas may not show Bach at his very best, some of them, e-minor + c-minor, certainly deserve the title masterwork. Gould may have uttered disdain about these works, but what he said, and what he really felt about some works may not always correspond. A study of the available Gould biographies will show that he kept on uttering his disgust for Bach's Chromatic Fantasy, but that he practiced it almost daily for a prolonged period of time. The performances here span some time in Gould's career: the e-minor is from the1960s, the rest is from 1979-80. The works don't get short-changed. As if to proof his statement that Bach was able to write ultra-passionate music from the very start of his career, some of the slow movements are played much slower (sometimes twice as slow) as usual. Bear in mind, no tempo-indications survive! While they certainly do not represent Bach's finest examples, Bach's Toccata Fugues are certainly among his most virtuosic. They allow Gould to show all the virtues of his unmatched counterpoint playing and to show that his fingers, in despite of his suffering from gout in the later years, were still able to outdo efforts by the likes of Argerich and Horowitz. A must, especially for those that consider the older Bach

Average customer rating:

While a clavichord gently weeps

J.S. Bach: The Seven Toccatas
Johann Sebastian Bach , and Richard Troeger (performer)
Manufacturer: Lyrichord Discs Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00004GOXJ
Release Date: 2000-03-28

Tracks:

The Seven Toccatas: G Major
The Seven Toccatas: D Minor
The Seven Toccatas: E Minor
The Seven Toccatas: D Major
The Seven Toccatas: F# Minor
The Seven Toccatas: G Minor
The Seven Toccatas: C Minor

Customer Reviews:

While a clavichord gently weeps.......2001-07-04

"August, 1717. Johann Sebastian Bach woke up late that night. He had insomnia, after tough disputes with duke Wilhelm Ernst von Weimer. He lighted up a candle without a noise, avoiding to disturb Maria Barbara and the four children. He put the slippers on, and sat by the clavichord, ten steps away from his sleeping bed. That was a place he loved the best, a place where he actually dreamed, whispered, confessed. He put his fingers on the slender keys and the most delicate of sounds filled the small chamber and thrilled the dark and silent Thuringian night. He did not need a might organ or a sparkling harpsichord to express his aching sentiments, his most intimate feelings. The clavichord was the closer voice of his soul. His fingers swept up and down. An adagio. A fugue. A toccata was being conceived. His genius triumphed by outpouring smoothly and passionately his celestial art. Maria Barbara and the children slept quietly, while a clavichord gently wept, that dark and silent Thuringian summer night."

This vignette underscores the place and specificity of the clavichord in Sebastian's time and, by extension, today. In the wake of the revival of period instruments, as a matter of fact the harpsichord reigned absolutely, for at last fifty years. Not without merit, specially considering the help of artists like Wanda Landowska, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Gustav Leonhardt, Kenneth Gilbert, to mention but a few. Nevertheless, this exclusivity is neither historically correct nor artistically fair. The clavichord had - and has - a place of its own in music making, with its very peculiar accent and character. The sentiment it transmits is quite unique. I agree: it is not suitable for large public performances like its wealthier brothers, the organ and the harpsichord. But it has an exact niche in music listening today. You must observe, however, the exact way to relish your session: take a very small room, silent, cozy, with the lowest volume of sound; you stay close to the speakers, low bass, median treble, no talking, no reading, no distractions. Just merge yourself with the delicacy of sound, the tiny vibrato, the clear phrasing and the sweet articulation of the instrument. A glass of Chardonnay is admitted. Minimalism all over. Transfiguration. Music at its purest and most magic moment.

Clavichord records used to appear only occasionally on the market - first on vinyl, now on CD - from the 70's to the 90's. I keep with love and affection some of these rare but fine examples: Colin Tilney's WTK first book, on Hyperion; Christopher Hogwood's Emmanuel Bach's sonatas (and a superb sonatina!) on L'oiseau Lyre; Gustav Leonhardt's assorted program, featuring Sebastian's 2nd French Suite, on Phillips. But now the door has opened wide and the whole Sebastian's keyboard oeuvre is becoming available on the clavichord thanks to the endeavor of Lyrichord Discs and Richard Troeger. And, that's important, with the highest artistic accomplishment these pieces are worth of. Richard Troeger is a sensitive performer, technically faultless, with a splendid ability to extract all the nuances and small secrets the clavichord has to offer the attentive listener. Lyrichord's engineers succeed in capturing the clearest of sounds, not to close and harsh, not to distant and evasive. The team - performer, producer, engineers - are building a landmark in music industry, that surely will help to rescue definitively the clavichord from oblivion.

Yet, another dogma is being broken: since the early biographers (Spitta, Forkel) only easy and didactic pieces were considered appropriated for the clavichord. What a great mistake! Richard Troeger demonstrates with the seven Toccatas (as he did before with the six Partitas) that these "more complex" pieces are full of richness and details to be unveiled by our delicate instrument. The toccatas begin with dramatic recitatives and then interweaves cantabile adagios with fugues - some simple and melodic, some overworked but riveting, yielding moments of pure emotion and enjoyment, enhanced by the subtle and distinctive singing of Troeger's clavichord. Give it a try.

Bach: Toccatas, BWV 910-916 (Edition Bachakademie Vol 104) /Watchorn (harpsichord)
Average customer rating:

Great Performance!

Bach: Toccatas, BWV 910-916 (Edition Bachakademie Vol 104) /Watchorn (harpsichord)
Johann Sebastian Bach , and Peter Watchorn
Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Bach: The Toccatas

ASIN: B00004S588
Release Date: 2000-02-29

Tracks:

(Presto)
Thema (Presto)
Adagio
Allegro
(Presto - Adagio)
Allegro
Adagio
Fuga
(Presto)
Adagio
Allegro (Fuga)
(Presto - Adagio)
Allegro (Fuga)
(Presto)
Adagio
Allegro E Presto
(Presto)
Un Poco Allegro
Adagio
Fuga (Allegro)
(Presto)
(Adagio)
Presto E Staccato
(Adagio)
(Fuga)
(Presto)-Allegro
Adagio
(Con Discrezione) - Presto
Fuga

Customer Reviews:

Great Performance!.......2005-12-22

This CD is included in the complete Bach Haenssler edition, and the performance really is magnificent. Generally, I prefer the piano to the harpsichord, but these works just seem to sound right on the harpsichord, and almost forced on the piano. Listen to the last movement of the BWV 912 - the Watchorn performance has to be heard to be believed. Makes one really want to jump up and start dancing. On the piano, all the life seems to disappear.

A great example of how Bach could make a fugue into an exciting work of art.

Average customer rating:

J.S. Bach: Toccatas BWV 910-916

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Bach: Piano Works

ASIN: B0000013WR
Release Date: 1994-02-15

Tracks:

Toccata in F Sharp Minor, BWV 910
Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911
Toccata in D Major, BWV 912
Toccata in D Major, BWV 913
Toccata in E Major, BWV 914
Toccata in G Minor, BWV 915
Toccata in G Major, BWV 916

J.S. Bach: Toccatas for Harpsichord (Complete), BWV 910-916 / Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor BWV 903 - Anthony Newman, harpsichord (recorded June 1995)

Average customer rating:

Newman on fire, as usual

J.S. Bach: Toccatas for Harpsichord (Complete), BWV 910-916 / Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor BWV 903 - Anthony Newman, harpsichord (recorded June 1995)

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001KEE
Release Date: 1996-03-12

Tracks:

Chromatic Fantasy And Fugue In D Minor, S. 903
Toccata In F# Minor, S. 910
Toccata In C Minor, S. 911
Toccata In D Major, S. 912
Toccata In D Minor, S. 913
Toccata In E Minor, S. 914
Toccata In G Minor, S. 915
Toccata In G Major, S. 916

Customer Reviews:

Newman on fire, as usual.......2004-12-31

Anthony Newman may be the only keyboard performer currently playing who manages to consistently have the same level of energy and panache that the late Glenn Gould had. These are wonderful performances of the Bach Toccatas. Evidently they were Bach's attempt to write showpieces for a virtuoso harpsichordist that would have the same effect on a good harpsichord that his organ toccatas had on a good pipe organ. They are terrific pieces and deserve to be better known. Bach never wrote a fugue anymore "catchy" than the C minor fugue and that is just one of the tresaures here. I actually prefer Newman's performances of these pieces to Glenn Gould's. Newman matches Gould in the brio department and does not have Gould's unfortunate tendency to drag the slow movements into interminable lengths. These are an excellent value and no one else can touch Newman in the performance of these pieces. The CDs also include a sizzling performance of Bach's legendary Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. If you enjoy Bach and keyboard virtuosity then you will be pleased.

Average customer rating:

Bach: Toccatas BWV 910-916

Manufacturer: Zig Zag Territoires
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000852GGI
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Average customer rating:

Spectacular Sound
Definitive recording

Bach: Toccatas BWV 910-916

Manufacturer: Mandala
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000IXWO
Release Date: 1999-05-11

Customer Reviews:

Spectacular Sound.......2001-05-16

A fan of all music, this is some of the finest I have had the pleasure of listening to. Mr. Vinikour has total control of the instrument, the music and the space inbetween. I had the pleasure of meeting Jory and hearing two of his performances. Although the cd is nothing like being seated in front of Jory's hapsichord, the sound is live and pure. Thank you Jory for all the days and nights of study!

Definitive recording.......2000-08-25

As a listener since many years of harpsichord recordings, this is the finest recording of Bach's harpsichord toccatas that I have come across. To begin with, the harpsichord by Anthony Sidey and Freceric Bal is exquisite. Then, Vinikour's straightforward and virtuosic readings of these youthful works is of the highest standard. I recommend this recording absolutely!