Bach on the fortepiano

[doversoul1]

Monday Lunchtime Concert

Live from Wigmore Hall, London. Italian violinist Giuliano Carmignola and South African fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout perform the sonatas in A major and E major by Bach, and the Sonata in A by Mozart, K526.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b052gskg

I very much enjoy Giuliano Carmignola playing Vivaldi, but I couldn’t make up my mind about this performance. It sounded very un-Bach to me. Not sure if it was his playing or the fortepiano accompaniment. Did anyone listen?

I didn’t hear the Mozart (chores got in the way).

[ardcarp]

Thanks for drawing attention to this, dovers. The recital eased a BIG chore for me...imagine the picture; me in full overalls, mask and goggles (but happily not ear-plugs) shoving horrible rolls of insulating material into our long but very cramped loft. I thought the playing wonderful, and the ensemble and balance exemplary. I have to say I stopped work and sat up there, deluding the household I was doing Something Useful, but actually giving the music my full attention. The fortepiano worked extremely well for me. I am probably biased, because I used to accompany my father playing these on a (very ordinary) pianoforte, so am used to the non-harpsichord idea. The fortepiano the unpronounceable South African used had a very clear sound, and the bass was so well-defined that one didn't miss a gamba or cello on the bass-line. When you say it sounded un-Bachian, dovers, this may be because some of the movements in both sonatas are very light and airy and possibly as near to galante as he got. I am one of those who think (look away now, purists) that Bach would have delighted in the possibilities of a piano. It is thought he encountered some very early fortepianos (by Silberman?), but these would have been rudimentary compared with the one used in this recital. Enjoyed the Mozart too.