Glenn Gould plays Bach~Prelude & Fugue No 17, BWV 862 (The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I)

[lorpira]

He sings while playing, I love listening to him.

[birdson222]

Glenn Gould is showing "one" person how to play the piano the right way...

[Monxiful]

This fugue is very difficult!! But beautiful, too!

[Swirlymist]

I hate how bach's fugues are always so difficult for me...I find it really hard to make each voice distinct and not lose control of the speed, etc. And the worst thing is most people who haven't played them don't realise how hard they are because honestly they don't seem that hard/interesting until you actually try them. I love gould's fugue, I tihnk it's the best I've listened to.

[djfakt]

@Swirlymist You don't have to play them to find them VERY interesting...

[dtdt96]

@Swirlymist It doesn't matter that people who haven't played Bach's fugues deride it or claim that its easy. Happened to me a couple of times. Just enjoy the music and the genius reflected in the notes.

P.S. Playing the G minor prelude & fugue from Book 1 of Well-tempered Clavier

[MortiCarthago]

@dtdt96 it's because people think if you hit the notes at the right time, then you done a good job, and hell if you bring out the melodic line it sounds great. In Bach's work, every line is the melodic line. Even the inventions and sinfonias are hard to play well, although they are easy to play poorly.

[RemovdSande11]

@MortiCarthago

ha you might be correct. yes .. you are ^^

[spexxers]

one thing ive learned is no piece is really harder to play...all it takes is to get the understanding and feeling of the piece...and that is hard...gotta dig deep into the soul!

[naiewgnaw]

his fugue is so refreshing! definitely the most interesting that i've heard.

[hoodloom22]

the fugue is good but Richter plays the prelude much better.

[maximusjesse]

personally, the fugue is more challenging for me than beethoven's appassionata. to keep each voice distinct and voiced correctly makes beethoven's runs and octaves seem like a joke. i have very good technique, yet the preludes and fugues of the well-tempered clavier just don't come easily to me. bach doesn't require virtuosity the same way beethoven does.

[SqueezeMyLemonBabe]

@maximusjesse Well Beethoven's style of playing and Bach's are totally different. Beethoven wrote more along the lines of a bass as well as a melodic hand - and he would interchange the melodies between the bass and treble often, where-as Bach's music requires the utmost mastery of each hand to the fullest degree of finger independance and concentration.

[faythkx]

Most fugues are harder than they sound. To really maintain each of the voices require a lot of concentration.

[heinzgilbert]

OMG! this guy is a true legend!

[henrique1944]

I did not like the prelude but the fugue is just wonderful.

[edward130603]

i like the speed he plays the fugue actually...

[grThetrojan01gr]

he plays the fugue a bit fast....

[vkhooi]

The fugue is sublime!

[abseTGg]

Perfectly played. I'm practicing the prelude at the moment, its hard.

[linglonghead]

@abseTGg

me 2 i m practicing prelude, the fingering is very hard.

[mauiboynokaoi]

@linglong and abse: Actually it doesn't sound hard. Just requires precision and practice. It's not really all that fast like beethoven's Sonata Pathetique so it's not as physically demanding. You should be able to get it down in about 2 weeks and memorized in 3.

[linglonghead]

@mauiboynokaoi thx guy, i almost get it now

[baseket2ball12]

@mauiboynokaoi why would u compare this to a beethoven sonata

[mauiboynokaoi]

@baseket2ball12 I'm talking technically. Technically this is not as difficult a piece as something like Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique.

[BMX90]

@mauiboynokaoi That's because you think "technique" is just finger dexterity and speed...

[pornomago82]

@baseket2ball12 I can't believe you don't understand... maybe i have to respect your idea, so i'll not continue to write

[KyndalSarah]

I love it! Gould plays beautifully.