bach - art of fugue - contrapunctus 4 - glenn gould

[noobarta]

They don't make music like this anymore :(

[vinciano]

@noobarta well music of this level has never been made anymore since 1750 -)

[tomoka404]

i love the sound of that piano. is it a steinway??

[dersiano]

Hi mackbox 123! I have read a lot about Gould, as well as possessing his recording of the Bach Partitas... on vinyl! ...and I think that in the copious notes that come with that recording, which sort of amounts to an 'interview' with Gould, he admits that he used to tamper with his pianos to make them sound more like harpsichords. I'm pretty sure that that's what he's done in this recording, hence the rather strange piano sound.... which of course does not detract from the wonderful playing!

[mackbox123]

@dersiano Nearly missed your interesting reply. Bet you are a huge fan of Gould and Bach. I've just heard your recording of the Art of Fugue on a synthesizer. It is marvellous! And this makes me feel that Bach's fugue could be performed through any kind of medium with its artistry still remains. Bach's work will last a thousand years.

[jezmuff]

so wild and exciting

[mackbox123]

This sounds like harpsichord!



[jezmuff]

@mackbox123 This is what older pianos + older recording techniques sound like

[bnull240]

@jezmuff @mackbox123 @dersiano @tomoka404 this is a modified piano with metal hammers for a more harpsichord-like sound. He played one concert with it. Also played Brandenburg 5 and accompanied Cantata 54 in this concert. Search wikipedia for "tack piano." I think Brandenburg 5 sounds especially good with this instrument and Gould's playing.

[EricTheRed03]

Isn't this piece for organ?

[TrajanGregory]

One cannot compare music from Bach to Beethoven to Mozart, et al .... They achieve different types of perfection based on different motivations and goals ....

One might say that a Bach fugue is 'dry', but they possess a sublime perfection on an academic level .... Bach's 'dry' fugues are still masterpieces; exemplars of that art form. Bach's art is stunning, but Mozart's purity of melody and harmony are also amazing, as are Beethoven's bold expressions of darkness and joy ....



[henripche]

@TrajanGregory Did Beethoven actually write any fugues? I mean he wrote fugues 'with a licence' and fughettas as part of his sonatas, symphonies and quartets, but unlike Mozart, he didn't seem to capable of operating within such narrow strictures.

[TrajanGregory]

@henripche - Hey there - I believe Beethoven utilized fugal development in his sonata forms, as most composers do to this day - It is a very attractive asthetic device from a psychoacoustic perspective, and is just one tool in the tool chest, so to speak.

Beethoevn did write one specific fugue as a third movement for a String Quartet (#13) .... But it was removed and replaced by a lighter piece, according to a story in Wikipedia - It is now known as the 'Grosse Fugue' ....

[elopez4024]

@TrajanGregory Agree with you, except on one point. While Bach's music is certainly the most academic, this doesnt mean its "dry". Bachs music is without question the most emotionally charged and impacting, just on a higher, more mature level. Isnt the fugue in BWV565 emotionally riveting, or the Dorian, or the Wedge fugue just as majestic as any Beethoven work? Bachs music is equally academic, technically demanding as is emotionally charged. The perfect trinity of art, if you must.

[TrajanGregory]

@elopez4024 - I use the term 'dry' only because others believe it to be. I personally do not - I still and always will love the old man's art ...

I am not sure we can define his music as more mature ... Music is art, and art creates emotional impact. Someone might point to relatively simple pieces from other composers as having a greater emotional impact than a 'dry' old fugue, and in their mind, they of course believe it - I cannot deny them.

Still, a Bach fugue gets me going ...

[mandril1970]

You must see the Manuel Huerga's film "Les Variacions Gould". It showed me the Glenn Gould's person. Sorry for my englis. Best regards.

[iguarni]

wordless! Glenn has been a legendary pianist!!!

[stephenykevin]

@iguarni You can be it too.

[AndyMajia]

THE immortal god of harmony

[artiste1212]

Funny -- to me this sounds cold, dry, and expressionless.

[anisometropie]

this is so beautiful

[johngoforth77]

gould on bach... is it just me or is it getting a little hot in here??!?!

[ophelius111]

Wow!

[jeffreykevinguitar]

this made me dumb, Bach the legend the one sent by God to earth for music.

[gigatabatadze]

Just not enough words or phrases to describe feelings and emotions.

I see, this music is not under any intellectual definitions...

Divine.

[Justme1635438]

Never had anyone play kunst der fuge on piano as well as gould

[iguarni]

Glenn you'll be in music legend for ever.

[crym77]

Chicken soup for a complex mind.

[14775573]

Good grief that man can play! The trill around 1'10'' is amazing, and the precise, clockwork rhythm is very cool. Musicians like him is what keeps classical music alive!

[crym77]

You are right, 14775573, about the trill at 1'10". Sometimes I pull out this recording just to hear that trill.

[mistercleopatra]

@14775573 OMG I KNOOOOW. I love the trill! its all too beautiful for me to say any more that matters

[raymondkkng]

I think Gould was at his prime in this video. Incredible tempo accuracy, just like an electornic clock or machine. I havn't come across any pianist could beat him in this aspect. Also, perfect balance of different parts. marvelleous!!

[megagnathos]

I think everyone should just sit down at the piano who composes and just play until everything their playing sounds like complete nonsense... and then to the point where any idea of what used to be music is sooo increibly lost it has no choice but to formulate into a grand idea of this very stature...

[cozmagl]

When I hear the harpsichord-like sound, I first thought it was some whacky tuning that gould used...but when I read through the posts, I realized that the hammers were covered with metal....how bizaar

[ieatbunnies3]

@cozmagl Thats not that weird, he was trying to emulate the sound of some of the keyboard instruments of Bach's day.The metal covered hammer has a sharper attack and a quicker decay on the note, similar to the harpsichord

[gscotm55]

His performance is like he is inviting us to discover everything.

[kaypapademas]

I agree!

[manuelkatarino]

Yes, the hamers are covered with metals

and when they plucked the cords they sound something like a harpsichord...

[JAYASEKERA]

I love how this piano sounds like a harpsichord. It's perfect for Gould's Bach.

[adams82683]

yes, I noticed a couple of typos in my last comment btw (should have been Beethoven didn't write nearly as as Bach; classical/romantic composers hugely influenced)

[antimatterXXXIII]

This is played on special Steinway "tacked" piano, what Gould called a "harpsipiano", used for example in the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues". The poor man's way to do it is to simply drive tacks into the felt hammers so that they make a tinny sound when falling on the strings. This Steinway received more professional preparation! Gould abandoned this experiment soon after this recording.

[tommyIglesias]

sebastian bach its an excelent singer, jajaja i dont know why someone mention him

but this video... this is perfect

perfect tempo, notes, voices

i close my eyes and i listen 4 separated voices

PERFECT!

[MMSterling]

Totally Agreed!!!

[micangess]

Contrappunto straordinario...intellettualit­à senza pari. Interpretazione ineguagliabile, anche se non condivido il suono così compromesso del pianoforte.

[MaBu888]

Tam tam tam tam tam tada tam!!! La Verita' dici!

[rigolissimo]

And he had 20 children to deal with !

[ThePapaBrain]

Only 10 survived

[anisometropie]

"There is Bach ... and then all the others." Pablo Casals

"Despite all my love for many others - and Beethoven and Mozart are not the least - I can only agree with Casals: Bach dominate them all." Paul Tortelier

beethoven also said "Bach sollte nicht Bach, sondern Meer heißen."

[PiotrekChrobot]

True, true

[reapersdigest]

this video should have at least a million views by now

[JesdaG]

@reapersdigest Maybe if he showed his tits.

[SUPPLEANDFIRM]

@reapersdigest YOU ARE SO RIGHT. After all it's only off by 940,000 views.

[diditrich]

Bach WAS one of the greatest intellects that ever lived, but that's not all. He viewed none of his works as sacrosant, like Beethoven and his huge ego, did. There is a lot of invention, and why not, playfulness in his fugues. Glenn Gould shows that. This music is still alive and will always be. Beethoven's fugues were analythical, but without the same degree of genious. Bach wasn't cold at all. Listen to contrapunctus XIV!!!

Sorry for my english.

[matthew1722]

I haven't heard any of Beethoven's fugues, however I believe both composers created very passionate music. They were both genious, however different they were. I enjoy playing them both.

[matt01685]

please, both of you. the spelling is "genius". No reason to introduce an 'o' that was never there just cause americans dropped some o's from other words.

[florduende]

because beethoven it´s from classic-romantic and the preludes and fugues weren´t used in this period like in the barroque (period of bach, haendel, corelli, etc) you can´t compare this two, first, the instruments change in this different periodo, forms, dinamics etc etc

[matthew1722]

Beethoven did write fugues, altough not nearly as many as Bach did. Beethoven would often incorporate fugues into his string quartets, piano pieces, etc. Many classical and romantic composers are influenced by baroque masters such as Bach. There are fugal sections in many of their pieces to prove this. You don't seem to understand how these three periods are closely related in many ways.

[HerrWarja]

In Mozarts symphony no. 41 there is a fugato in the last movement for more examples of more modern composers writing fugues, and aswell in the mass in c-minor and his requiem.

[matthew1722]

Also Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and his Eroica variations, both for piano solo, as well as the Hammklavier sonata. All of these incorporate fugues at the end. There are probobly many more examples which I have yet to hear. I found this quote by florduende a bit funny. "it´s from classic-romantic and the preludes and fugues weren´t used in this period like in the barroque" I guess he needs to listen more closely to the repertoire.

[Nachtmarchen]

@matthew1722 To be fair, Beethoven's fugues are VERY different from Bach's. Bach always preserves the integrity of his fugue subjects whereas Beethoven often actively develops them, in many ways Beethoven's fugues are closely related to early Baroque variation ricercares. Bach on the other hand builds musical structure using only fragmentations and permutations of his themes, he sounds out the character of his themes to the fullest - unlike Beethoven, who often abandons his themes quickly.

[adams82683]

You, may friend, need to get your information right. Yes, Beethoven write nearly as many fugues as Beethoven, but matthew1722 is right on. The Eroic Variations and Symphony, 2nd concerto cadenza, the late string quartets and sonatas, to name a few, are all full of fugues, large and small. Classical and Romantic composers were hugles influenced by the Baroque masters. Even if you had a modicum of knowledge of the rep and history you would know that.

[Nachtmarchen]

@diditrich Bach had a great sense of humor, my favorite musical joke of his is the fact that there's just 23 1/2 (rather than 24) entries of the subject in the first fugue of the Well-Tempered Clavier.

[sailing19100]

@Nachtmarchen that is funny. which one did he leave out?

[desolateroom]

@Nachtmarchen Wait how so? I'm not very familiar in fugues but very interested... explanation please haha.

[Nachtmarchen]

@desolateroom Which one of my two posts were you referring to?

[desolateroom]

@Nachtmarchen "Bach had a great sense of humor, my favorite musical joke of his is the fact that there's just 23 1/2 (rather than 24) entries of the subject in the first fugue of the Well-Tempered Clavier." That one haha

[Beaudereck]

@diditrich you probably meant "sorry for my comment".

[vinciano]

@diditrich there is completely different approach toward the fugue, between Bach and Beethoven, i mean. Beethoven rarely wrote traditional fugue. I would not call op. 133 as a cold piece but one of the most astoundic document of human genius.

[puck981]

That was orgasmic.

[diditrich]

God save the harpsipiano!

[betkazblavy]

Oh My Gould...I love Bach! Outstanding piece!!!

However, I have got a very bad piano and haven't got a teacher yet. The distinction of performance is what I can only dream about...

[ryanyee1234567890]

isn't it obvious? gould.

[ryanyee1234567890]

outstanding! if only he were still alive...

[wcbroccoli]

If who were still alive? Bach or Gould :)

[n14e5o15]

Bach wouldn't get very far today. He's too logical and subtle.

[diditrich]

Well, Bach would be a little too old. But he still lives in his music.

[bringrofmanyachuckle]

Technically, there is that famous musician named Sebastian Bach who's still alive. But he will never compare to the one and only Johann Sebastian Bach.

[florduende]

ha... haha....hahahahahahahahahahaha­hahahahahahahahahaha that´s so ridiculous, go and get the right information :D but you make me laugh for 15 minutes o more

[bringrofmanyachuckle]

...?

[juancillo]

isn't this art of the fugue suposed to be too difficult to be played only by a pianist alone?, oh¡¡, of course.. it's Gould..¡¡

[tgnwb]

Is this the famed 'harpsipiano'?

[timribchester]

yes -a normal piano with tacks in the hammers, changes the contact but not the weight control.

[obywatel1981]

he was a genius

and he still

[musik909]

so brilliant. gould is alive.

[grandpianist]

he is a god much better than bach himself i reckon

[Tazeruk]

Much better than Bach himself ?

[17582218]

Bach is a composer and Gould is a pianist. You can't compare them and never try to compare them. It's an insult for both.

[Terrdemarzielle]

Although in terms of profound achievement, Bach is the clear victor. Gould is merely superhuman.

[boomzxz]

I wish I was a superhuman.

[Terrdemarzielle]

You never heard Bach play the Organ

[vinciano]

men... Bach and Gould are not of this world.

[blubberass]

lol, music certainly took a turn for the worst: Beyonce LOL.. Good Charlotte ...no thanks... it seems like ppl didnt get any smarter in 200 years.......

[blubberass]

he's faking

[onionpizza]

bluberass, my dog is so dumb he barks at his shadow; but his IQ is higher than yours.

even he knows when to shut up and listen.

[NihilNominis]

So what if he were; there would still need to be someone with profound enough genius to play the piece in his stead.

[salmonroll]

Please, more Gould!!