Search - Bach, Leonhardt :: J.S. Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier II

SURPRISINGLY METRICAL, BUT THAT ACOUSTIC!

John J. Schauer | Chicago, IL USA | 02/15/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This, the second volume of Leonhardt's complete WTC recording, shares the same strengths and weaknesses as the first. Long ago I joined the ranks of those who found his performances too eratic rhythmically, but either I've adjusted or this is a very early recording, because his meter at times is so strident it's almost militaristic. He also uses more varied registration than I expected from him, although he refrains from registration changes while he's playing, a la Landowska (whose performance of the WTC remains, for me, the gold standard). What kept me from giving this recording higher marks is the extremely echoey acoustics--it sounds like it was recorded in the Carlsbad Caverns. I know 18th-century palaces had marble floors and high, vaulted ceilings and were far more reverberant than today's salons or concert halls, but those rooms were also filled with people in flowing brocades and velvets that would have absorbed some of that echo. It makes prolonged listening quite uncomfortable, if not unbearable. A shame, because it's an interesting interpretation from a major artist."

Impeccable performance!

A. Chung | San Jose, CA | 06/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gustav Leonhardt, as usual, gives a great interpretation of this oft-recorded cycle. At times, the tempos he chooses are a bit on the slow side, but Baroque music shouldn't be played too fast anyway. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to hear a recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier II on the harpsichord."