Bach, C P E

[Richard Barrett]

Personally I never tire of CPE Bach. Although that 10 CD set does contain some of his less engaging items, it also contains some of the best (the "Hamburg Symphonies", the Concerto for harpsichord and fortepiano, the Concerto in F for two harpsichords, the Magnificat for example).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Personally I never tire of CPE Bach. Although that 10 CD set does contain some of his less engaging items, it also contains some of the best (the "Hamburg Symphonies", the Concerto for harpsichord and fortepiano, the Concerto in F for two harpsichords, the Magnificat for example).

Yes - I was looking forward to the Hamburg Symphonies (I know them from a set from the early '80s that I used to have access to); sadly half of them aren't included in the box! Even so, I wouldn't wish to put anybody off buying this set; at under £13 for the 10 discs it is a remarkable bargain. And very amusing.

[teamsaint]

Yes - I was looking forward to the Hamburg Symphonies (I know them from a set from the early '80s that I used to have access to); sadly half of them aren't included in the box! Even so, I wouldn't wish to put anybody off buying this set; at under £13 for the 10 discs it is a remarkable bargain. And very amusing.

does it have a good nose?are you getting blackberry, an after hint of pear or...........

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[gurnemanz]

Strange that I should remember this so clearly but many years I heard a Radio 3 production of Danton's Death by Büchner, set during the French Revolution, and the background music was some very atmospheric keyboard music which turned out to be CPE - very Sturm und Drang. I vowed to get to know this music but never got around to doing so until I acquired this enjoyable disc from Mikhail Pletnev

[Serial_Apologist]

I always think of John Ireland's reply when asked what he thought of the great Classical composers, namely that one obviously respected them, the trouble being that one always seemed to know what was coming next. And I guess this is one of the main attractions of CPE Bach's music for me - it hasn't yet reached that over-tidy stage of predictability that makes so much of the music of his successors indistinguishable, until that is we reach the later indubitably great classical works like Mozart's Jupiter and Haydn's Creation, which likewise look into the future with the sense of uncertainty and risk his might once have.

[verismissimo]

... And I guess this is one of the main attractions of CPE Bach's music for me - it hasn't yet reached that over-tidy stage of predictability that makes so much of the music of his successors indistinguishable...

Noooooo!

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

the estimable Cafe Zimmermann Symphonies and Concertos is a lovely cd ...

[verismissimo]

I've reached CD8 out of ten in the deutsche harmonia mundi set and one thing is crystal clear for me: the problem all along has been that I've wanted CPE to sound more like JS or JC or Haydn or Mozart... Of course, what he sounds like is... CPE. Utterly individual.

[verismissimo]

I've spent a good part of this week with the bargain DHM 10CD set of Manny Bach's works. Still forming an opinion; there is much to enjoy and surprise, but quite a bit that (on first acquaintance) sounds a little ... erm ... well; unexceptional.

The ones that for me were "unexceptional", as you put it ferney, were only the trios with flute and the organ sonatas. The Magnificat and the Last Sufferings strike me as fully exceptional!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Magnificat and the Last Sufferings strike me as fully exceptional!

Yes! Just played this for the first time yesterday - astonishing work. (The very ending a bit anti-climactic, though.)

[richardfinegold]

CPE Bach: A 'Great' Composer?

There was a BAL Thread on CPE a while back but it didn't draw much interest. Apparently this is the 300th Anniversary of his Birth and some of the Music Magazines have been featuring him (Grammophone and Fanfare in particular). The writers in these magazines assert that his reputation has improved over the last few decades or so and that he now comfortably resides in Valhalla with the First String Great Composers, fully the equal of his father, LvB, Chopin, Brahms, etc.
I have been listening to some of the CPE that I have accumulated over the years and also to some other works via Spotify. I think it's a mixed bag. A lot of the flute stuff that he turned out for Frederick over the decades is soporific. I understand he had to write down to the tastes of his Royal Employer but Mozart and Haydn had to do that and still turned out masterpieces. The Harpsichord Concertos may be CPE best music, as they are consistently inventive and have really poignant slow movements. The String Symphonies are being praised for their mood shifts and quirkiness, but when I listen the primary feeling is vertiginous nausea. The Magnificat strikes me as a Great Piece, but I haven't explored any other Vocal Music.
Thoughts?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have problems with CPE - his best works, played well, are considerably better Music than the "interesting historical curiosities" that was his reputation in the '60s and '70s. But buying the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi boxed set re-emphasized for me what I'd thought on previous acquaintance with his Music: you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you reach the ones that prove to be princes. Apparently, I shouldn't have got this box - there are better recordings of better works elsewhere; and the Hamburg Symphonies I've always greatly admired. Yes, there is material here that is more rewarding than some of Mozart and Haydn when they weren't on full heat. But I could not understand what criteria would be being used by anyone who did suggest that he might be "fully the equal of his father, LvB, Chopin, Brahms etc." I'd be genuinely interested to hear the thoughts of anyone if they were to make such a claim.

[Pianoman]

I honestly don't know a wide enough range of his works to judge, but I know the Hamburg Sinfonias and find the quirky invention quite original and appealing. I also love the piano sonatas, but that's possibly due to the rather wonderful pianism of a certain Mikhail Pletnev...

[Serial_Apologist]

Is it right to hear a massive and historic aesthetic shift in form and expression brought about virtually by CPEB and by CPEB alone - one without which there would have been no Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven? Or was his approach just one among many moving in the same direction after the death of Bach Sr. and Handel?

If it is right to say he was a sole influence on what came immediately in his wake, then I think we have to say the CPE Bach was indeed a great composer.