Thread: Brandenburg Concertos for Piano?

Posts: 12
Page: 1 2 next

Post by gian February 24, 2010 (1 of 12)
Hi everybody!

I would like to know if exist a version of “Brandenburg Concertos No.5” (Bach) with an orchestra and PIANO, instead of harpsichord, on CD or SACD? Like this one played by Glen Gould

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyh1o0Gfy6Y&feature=PlayList&p=1ABEB06682EA1618&index=0&playnext=1

Thanks in advance

Post by xavster February 24, 2010 (2 of 12)
There is a recording by Sony with Murray Perahia. It's lovely!
Can't easily provide a link due to posting via iPhone....

Post by gian February 24, 2010 (3 of 12)
thanks

Post by Beagle February 24, 2010 (4 of 12)
Bach: Keyboard Concertos 1 - Hewitt/ACO
Concerto No. 1 in D minor BWV 1052
Concerto No. 7 in G minor BWV 1058
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D BWV 1050
Triple Concerto in A minor BWV 1044

Post by Hedgehog February 25, 2010 (5 of 12)
Dear gian,

I strongly support both the Perahia and Hewitt recommendations above. The Perahia is currently available on Amazon UK at around £8.00 plus p & p. Perahia is a great Bach player; I heard him play Bach's Partita No.6 at a superb recital in London last week, and if you like his Brandenburg 5, I cannot recommend his complete set of keyboard concertos strongly enough. Hewitt is also an excellent Bach player, and her Hyperion SACD sounds beautiful. While you're at it, why not get the other Hewitt concerto disc (Nos. 2-6)? Then you'll have Brandenburg 5 plus all the keyboard concertos on two fine SACDs. If you do fancy this, however, I would urge immediate acquisition, as Hyperion are making no further SACDs and are disposing of their SACD stocks (see current permanent sale on their website).

Post by terence February 25, 2010 (6 of 12)
these things are very personal i know, but i find bach concertos on the piano about as artistically satisfying as schubert on the harpsichord.

the instrument is fundamentally wrong for the scale and aesthetic of the music, regardless of how good the pianist is.

as i say, it's a personal taste thing isn't it?

Post by wehecht February 25, 2010 (7 of 12)
The Perahia is a single layer disc if that makes any difference to you. Also, while for the Hewitt disc(s) the coupling is the other more or less canonical keyboard concertos, the Perahia is coupled with the "Italian Concerto" and a concerto for flute, violin, and keyboard. I normally enjoy my Bach on the piano rather than the harpsichord, and both recordings are excellent of their type, but when I listen to them in comparison to the "authentic" versions on Harmonia Mundi and BIS it's immediately obvious that the piano/modern chamber orchestra approach is a distant second best. In this case less is definitely more.

Post by Beagle February 27, 2010 (8 of 12)
Piano? Harpsichord? --not a dilemma with Hewitt:

"On this recording we have done something slightly unusual (although certainly it has been done before). To better distinguish between the solo and tutti passages, we have decided to use a harpsichord in its traditional role as continuo. The baroque orchestra is not complete without it, and there is no reason why it shouldn't be part of a modern-day recording, even when the piano is used as the solo instrument. Of course in Bach's time the solo harpsichord acted simultaneously as continuo, although there is evidence that another one could have been used as continuo along with a theorbo.... When used sensibly, the harpsichord adds the appropriate colour to the orchestra without interfering in any way with the solo part. It is also then able to take over the purely continuo passages that sound 'wrong' played on the piano. This is especially evident in the Brandernburg Concerto No 5 where the piano is used only as soloist...."

Post by wehecht February 27, 2010 (9 of 12)
Beagle said:

Piano? Harpsichord? --not a dilemma with Hewitt:

I am a huge Hewitt fan (her dvd exploring the question of Bach performance practice on the modern piano is revelatory), but the use of a continuo harpsichord in her recording of Brandenburg #5 is simply irrelevant. Regardless of the presence of that harpsichord, the solo instrument is still Hewitt's beautiful Fazioli, and to my ears it's just not the right instrument for this work.

Post by Arthur February 27, 2010 (10 of 12)
I tend to be an adherent of original instruments (and even more, of one voice to a part) in Bach, but I've always loved - even preferred - the solo keyboard music on the piano. I never really liked the Concerti that way, however; and to me the Perahia is no exception. But the Hewitt was a revelation! And I think a huge part of that revelation was a result of the use of harpsichord in the continuo. I never would have dreamed it could make such a huge difference, but for me, it simply sounds right!

Page: 1 2 next

Closed