Baremboim Or Schiff: The 48 Preludes And Fugues

Any pianist who has recorded the complete 48 Preludes & Fugues by J.s Bach deserves a medal. Whether these medals are all GOLD is not necessarily the case, however when discussing the recordings made by Baremboim and Schiff we lower our voices in hushed tones and bow in reverence.These are PLATINUM. Why would I say this?

There are renditions of Bach that sparkle momentarily or highlight some magnificent contrapuntal detail but all too often it is the case with Bach that the global perspective is missing. Note perfect renderings can become mundane. After a while long passages of harmonic wanderings through cycles of fifths lose their momentum. A strict adherence to monotone piano dynamics that disallows vast dynamic ranges minimises the epic nature of many of Bach`s sound canvases. Enter Baremboim.

With Baremboim I am reminded of Stokowski conducting the Walt Disney Fantasy. All the grand gestures of the conjuror conductor the magical high priest teasing out every colour, rhythmic and sound texture. This is how Baremboim approaches these works. It`s as though he has in front of him the large scale symphony orchestra. The depth and resonance of that sound becomes transmuted through the piano in startling ways. His tempi for the Fugues tend to be on the slower more epic scale. This however does not allow any dying away of rhythmic momentum. In fact Baremboims dynamic range is huge and his phrasing - the long arches of them - never get lost. These are built up organically around a controlled sense of harmonic rhythm and the contrapuntal writing remains the servant of these great anticipated harmonic punctuations and underpinnings. Enter Schiff.

A sparkle of rhythmic joy, a fugal dance, contrapuntal clarity that remains constant no matter where the voice leading happens to go. This is Schiff almost diametrically opposed to Baremboim in the bubbling skipping joy he brings to these works. Often it is the case that Schiff takes the Fugues at a quicker tempo in an almost dance-like way and the preludes take on a more sombre mood. Interesting how Bach can still work in these opposite idioms the one - Romantic/Baremboim and the other Classicist.

I think it is an extraordinary adventure to listen to these two interpretations. Get them on Spotify. Download them and listen to them when you travel - on the tube, in a bus or a car.