The NY TIMES raved about this CD so of course I bought it. Till Fellner takes some parts of these pieces at breakneck speed. But at all times, Fellner has things under control. This is the best recording I’ve heard of “Inventions” and “French Suite V.” The recorded sound is pristine. If you love Bach, you’ll love this CD. GRADE: A-
Hi,
It was interesting to read your reviews of Till Fellner and Edward Aldwell. I would love to hear Aldwell’s WTC (of which I have heard only tantalising snatches on Amazon), but you have “tempered” my enthusiasm to some degree (thankfully for my bank account! :-))
I love Fellner’s playing on this CD and on his WTC. I saw him in concert here in Paris last year, and he began with the entire Inventions, which struckmy piano-playing friends as an odd choice for a recital (I am not a pianist!). However, the reading was fantastic, and a clear message that Bach does not necessarily have to be romanticised to prevent it from being “dry”.
I spoke to Till Fellner briefly afterwards and naturally asked him when he planned to record WTCII – “Well” he said, “Bach took around two decades between Books I and II, so we’ll see!” Let’s hope he doesn’t take so long!
On the subject of Bach, I urge you to check out the fabulous recording of his lute works on 10-string guitar by German guitarist Stephan Schmidt on the Naive label. Incredible musicianship and wondrous sounds. Just my opinion!
Regards, Pat
I thought Aldwell’s WTC was good, but not great. I still have a couple other WTCs to review in the next few weeks so you’ll be getting my opinions on those, too. We completely agree on Fellner. Very satisfying. I don’t have the Schmidt CD, but I’ll order it right away. Thanks for the recommendation!