Great great great
Dr. Glockenspiel | Munich, Germany | 02/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have been treasuring Bach keyboard recordings for some times now, and have found quite good things to say about this or that rendition by Tureck, Hewitt, Gieseking, Leonhardt, Pinnock, Gould, Weissenberg, Perahia, Lipatti etc.. The shining of the partita-gems (I think they are laced to the Clavierübung II) is a matter of whether, and to which extent, the performer succeeds or not in conveying the very dancing moods of the pieces as such. Another, closely related criteria, pertains to the new, yet unheard counterpuntal voicings and interweavings we have at hand with one particular version. Perhaps these phrasing might give you the idea of a duty to stress yourself with a great deal of sophisticated analysis before to experiment Bach's music to its fullest. Well, you needn't really. In the last analysis, the same thing that goes for pudding (or fudge for that matter) also goes for music (even more so). The proof of its making (of its recipe) is in the listening.
This version of the six partitas by Schiff (a young, perhaps a little green-horn looking Schiff on the album's cover) really is outstanding by these - and other - standards, and I keep returning to it as a breath of fresh air. Although movements differ from one another as human moods do throughout a year or a lifespan (and one can't find a better comparison I think), there is plenty of a contagious, bouncing energy here, and a great deal of bursting, tightly-knit, as-if byzantine ornementations also. To sum up : a real joy to listen to. Perhaps Bach really is, like Gould used to say, one of the geatest swingers of all time ("Il n'y a pas plus grand swigneur que Bach"). And Schiff is the place where it's at."
Wonderful, thoughtful reading
JP Nightingale | 10/17/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Andras Schiff has deservedly come to be respected as one of the finest pianists around today and this recording of Bach's Partitas from the mid '80's certainly backs up this view.
His is an arrestingly thoughtful, unhurried approach. Every note is carefully weighed. Every note matters.
It may not be quite on a par technically with Dinu Lipatti's dazzling 1950 recording of the first six, but to be honest, comparison is pointless when both versions have so much individuality.
You get the full Partitas here on 2 disks with fine sound quality. Definitely recommended."
A little disappointed
J. Hatch | 05/18/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I absolutely LOVE Schiff's recordings of the Bach WTC so I figured this would be pretty sweet too but I have the same feelings towards it as I do for the recordings of the french suites by Andrei Gavrilov, which includes just a little too much rubatto and not enough drive to keep the pieces into my ears. There are of course a lot of nice tracks, I like Schiff's fugues and musicality. But thank god Glenn Gould is always here to show us the light, as that is my preferred recording."
Track Listings (19) - Disc #1