The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Dances of Poland: A Treasury of Harpsichord Music	Legendary Performers: Landowska	Bach: Goldberg Variations; Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue; Italian Concerto Wanda Landowska made this first recorded version of Bach's Goldberg Variations in 1933. While she preferred her 1945 remake for RCA, this first attempt is tighter and less italicized in expression. The colorful registral shifts on her custom-made Pleyel harpsichord might ha...	The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I It's rather amazing today, when recordings of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier practically fall of the shelves, to recall just how unusual it was back in the 1960s for a pianist to undertake to record this amazing work. It's probably fair to say that until Glenn Gould got his fingers...	Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No1, Op107; Violin Concerto No1 (revised), Op99 Sony has brought together Shostakovitch's greatest concertos in first recordings made soon after their American premieres by the artists most closely identified with them. Neither performance has been bettered, though some, such as Vengerov's Teldec Violin Concerto, come close. T...	A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981) Glenn Gould's recording debut in 1955 of Bach's Goldberg Variations took the world by storm. His decidedly un-Romantic view, absolute technical skill, startling lucidity, and right-on rhythmic changes, combined with his eccentricities--audible humming, sometimes outrageously fast...

Consummate
I cannot think of any other recording of any musical work whatsoever that enhances the value of that music as much as do Landowska's recordings of The Well-Tempered Clavier (both Books I and II). I have heard many other renditions, from Gustav Leonhardt to Keith Jarrett, and this remains in a class by itself. You really have not heard the Well-Tempered Clavier until you have heard this. Some criticize Landowska's Pleyel harpsichord; on the contrary, I wish more music had been recorded on it. To me, this harpsichord is analogous to Bob Dylan's singing voice; perhaps not the prettiest thing on earth, but absolutely essential to the music!

What's not to love?
My mom gave me the two CD sets last Christmas because: 1) I love Bach 2) I love harpsichord How could she go wrong with a gift like this to someone like me? It is great having hours of great music I can just sit down and listen to as I read a book or study. I just love it! :)

A whole 'nother harpsichord
So many fine review/comments have been left here, that I just wanted to add that the sheer power of the harpsichord is often overlooked, and that the personal force of Wanda Landowska, so visible in her hands, as projected by this instrument, is one of the great aspects of this recording. Bach was a strong man, not an effete plucker of trills, and yet somehow the piano did not appeal to him. Granted the early fortepiano was primitive, but still, given the dynamic sensitivity but weak volume of the clavichord, and the tinkling of the harpsichord, it seems he would have been drawn to the fortepiano. The reason for Bach's preferences is obvious when you hear Landowska: this is not a tinkling instrument, and many modern recordings are too delicate, not manly enough. The massive harpsichord she had made by Playel, and filled whole concert halls with, sounds much like a smaller instrument in a small room. The range of tonalities at her disposal is not atypical of a fine harpsichord of the baroque era. I can't forget my impression of playing a dual-manual harpsichord after playing a clavichord in the same setting, and thinking "what a MASSIVE sound!". In this sense there is nothing false about her instrument or her approach, and many a subsequent interpretation just sounds dry and wimpy. Her playing roars and sings, it is in turn delicate, tragic and gargantuan. It is indeed her last will. She shuns the excessive trills and ornamentations. It sounds like a pipe organ, a piano, a clavichord, with everything in between. What an avalanche of emotion and sound! Nobody since then has equaled her in range and power, and though I can appreciate many other interpretations, this is the one with cojones! A different take on Bach, and a must-have!

The Recording of the 48.
My comments apply to both Books I and II: It's hard to put into words really, what it is about Wanda Landowska. If one steps away from "modern" musical conventions for a moment and really honestly listens to what Madame Landowska has to say, it can be an experience which is eye-opening to say the least. Landowska, as I have said before in my review of her Scarlatti recordings, was not concerned with "authentic interpretation", really what she strove toward was a musical realization which would bring the listener close to the spirit of Bach's music. That being said, a word about the Pleyel and Landowska's ideal sound is crucial to understanding Landowska's reading of the 48. The Pleyel Harpsichord was built with the express purpose of catching the Harpsichord up to its rival the Concert Grand Piano. Its many registers, far from being superfluous, highlight fugal composition and add heighten the drama of certain musical phrases. Its sound is unique; therefore it is not accurate to compare it to its ancestors. A lot of the Pleyel's sound characteristics are the way they are for two reasons, first the sound must posses enough volume and sustain that it can work in a large concert hall without amplification, and secondly it must record well. With these two aims in mind Landowska's sound is perfect for the task at hand. The other factor besides the instrument itself which must be considered, is the circumstances surrounding the recording itself. In 1949, the year in which recording started on the 48, Landowska had just turned 70. She had finally recovered from the shock of the war years and was now set on leaving behind a monument to her life's work. To this end she decided to record the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, recording sessions would continue into 1953. Recording began at RCA studios in New York, but at this point, being 70 years old and just having settled into her new house in Lakeville, CT; Landowska decided the constant travel was too much. As she put it "If I am to complete this, my last will and testament, the engineers and recording equipment will have to be brought to my home in Lakeville" RCA, in no place to argue with the still feisty Landowska, happily agreed. What was the point to that story you may ask? Well, it points out two very important things about the physical recording. The first is spiritual if you will; Landowska considered this the magnum opus of her career the summa of her 70 plus years of keyboard playing. Most importantly though, this was to be her last will and testament she was well aware that this endeavor would occupy the remainder of her life and so she was inspired by a sense of duty to set down an authoritative reading of the solo harpsichord masterpiece; One which she had studied all her life in order to tease out all its secrets. She did make recordings after 1953 but they were simply a way for her to stay active those last years. Dances of Poland, Mozart, Haydn, the Two and Three Part Inventions-( Left unfinished, these being her last recordings, she died of a stroke after completing only four of the twelve three-part inventions, that morning she was to finish the series.) None of these were a real serious study as her previous work had been. What one hears than is Wanda Landowska at the absolute pinnacle of her powers. Secondly, the sound of the recordings themselves: Landowska recorded Preludes& Fugues I-VIII of Book I in NYC. The rest of the set was recorded in her private music room in Lakeville (Her Library was the recording booth!). The first recording sound familiar to anyone acquainted with her work, as they are studio masters. The remainder- 9-24 Book I and all of Book II sound very "close" there is no spatial aspect to the sound. This is due to the room itself and the fact that these sessions were tapped as opposed to being recorded on shellac. This would seem to be a draw back, but a careful listening reveals that we are sitting right beside Landowska as her magnificent fingers, still very young and strong after 70 years, climb up and down the Pleyel's two manuals! We can hear, in this only recording, what Landowska's playing sounded like in her ears. Buy this recording, and truly listen. Hear what Wanda has to say, because more than any one playing today she has a message for her audience-"...if a man.. or a woman has nothing in their insides...in their soul, then they are poor. But if they have a conviction that something is beautiful...that something is profound...it helps them...to overcome their grief."

A "Regular People" Review
First of all, I'm really disposed to the harpsichord, so its only natural that I like this. A lot of people who aren't sure what this is need to listen to some previews first, because I don't think this music is for everyone. HOWEVER if you do like it do yourself a favor and do a little searching for the RCA Red Seal Complete Landowska Recordings, Its a seven disc set (Including the The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I and II and more) for less than this two disc set alone, hope this helps....and keep me updated!