Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Till Fellner :: Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier

An exquisite recording.

Kip Montgomery | Jackson Heights, NY USA | 07/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After having purchased this recording about a week ago, I cannot stop listening to it. I read about it in the New York Times, in a review by Anthony Tommasini (7/11/04), and I'm grateful to him for bringing attention to this superb recording.I've been waiting for a recording like this of the first book of the WTC, having grown weary of Gould and Schiff (whose recording I never really liked in the first place anyway) and others. Fellner's recording is a breath of much-needed fresh air. His playing is sensitive, articulate, deeply intelligent, and passionate within the bounds of taste and reason. His tempos are outstanding, always finely-tuned to what the structure of each prelude and fugue seems to require. He isn't afraid to use the pedal, but his superb ear for sound insures that nothing is ever blurred or exaggerated. While his performance of the preludes is brilliant and beautiful, it is in the fugues where one finds playing of the highest order: his exceptional ear, deep intelligence and masterful technique reveal the structure of these complex works in a way that is always natural and unforced. You will not hear subjects, answers and countersubjects hammered out in an imposing manner; rather, Fellner allows important structural lines to emerge in the most natural-sounding of ways, giving the listener the guidance needed to follow the counterpoint, but without making the performance sound like an analysis. The result is breathtaking: lyrical, unforced yet under control, intelligent, and beautiful.I can't praise this recording enough. I hope we will have many more Bach recordings to look forward to from Till Fellner in the near future."

An interesting and likable interpretation

glengariffe | Boston, MA | 02/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are certain words that associate with different artists playing Bach, such as "fluidity" for Edwin Fischer, "gorgeous sound" for Davitt Moroney, "by-the-book" for Wanda Landowska, and "Gould" for Glenn Gould. When I listened to Till Fellner's "well-tempered" CDs, I was thinking, "hmm charming...not your typical phrasing... seductive...sounds Chopin...?!... but it flows so nicely I don't want to stop it." After it finished, I was surprised that I didn't seem that upset with the deviations that normally would have driven me nuts.



Normally I absolutely refuse to finish listening to an artist whose interpretation I cannot stand, such as Anne Sophie Mutter when she Romanticized Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and Hilary Hahn when she botched the tempo and phrasing in Bach's Violin Concertos. However, Fellner's playing was so likable and flowed so nicely that I was nevertheless charmed into not only listening to it, but also repeatedly.



For the Bach purists who are at first taken aback by Fellner's interpretation, give it a chance. You may also be charmed.

"

Spectacular

rbnn | Berkeley, CA United States | 03/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own eight or nine recordings of the Well-tempered clavier, and can (or could) play some of the fugues. Prior to this recording the Schiff, and in some places the Gould, recordings were my favorite. Fellner's interpretations though are sublime - with the fusion of spirituality and technique that marks greatness. I've listened to his interpretation now thirty times and I just love his playing."