(western) classical music discussion

[Pyrrho]

Ah very good, the Well Tempered Clavier is still missing in my CD collection. What other recordings of it would you recommend? How do you like Pollini (if you have an opinion)?

Just buy the one I recommended (even though it is only Book I).  Do I ever steer you wrong?  I gave a copy of it to a pianist friend of mine, along with other CDs of Rubinstein doing Chopin.  I thought she would like the Rubinstein Chopin, and just slipped in the Horszowski Bach, which is what I really wanted her to hear.  But she particularly liked the Bach done by Horszowski, and hardly acknowledged the Rubinstein Chopin.  She is someone with a graduate degree in music, in piano, who teaches piano to others (which I would imagine is soul crushing).  So I am not good at predicting what she would like, but I was right in what to give to her.

I do not have an opinion of Pollini for the Well Tempered Clavier.  I do, however, have a generally more favorable impression of Pollini than of Gould.  But buy the Horszowski.  Even if you decide you want something else, you need Horszowski.  If you don't like Horszowski, you should hang your head in shame!

The only time you might not want to go with Horszowski is when he is live.  He was apt to make some mistakes from time to time (and because he recorded so rarely, everything that was recorded, no matter how screwed up in recording quality or in performance, is likely to have been released).  But even so, even when he was wrong, he could do no wrong.  I suspect that many people will not understand that remark, but somehow I think you might.

In the case of the Well Tempered Clavier, it is a studio recording, in good quality analog sound (just before almost everyone switched to digital).  Just buy it, and then post online about it, telling everyone that I am a stupid fool, if that is your opinion after hearing it.  And if you have good taste, feel free to thank me for the recommendation online.


Edited to add:

You can read other opinions of the performance at:

http://smile.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Well-Te...B000G8NVZC

http://smile.amazon.com/Bach-Well-Temper...B0000023F6

I should mention, however, that, judging from what I have read, one of the reviewers is wrong about the LPs originally including Book II.  According to what I have read, they started recording Book II, but cancelled the project, and so only Book I was ever released.