J.S. Bach - Die Kunst der Fuge. Contrapunctus No 14. Completed and played by V. Gryaznov

This is Contrapunctus No 14 from Bach's "Art of Fugue", his last cycle and his testament for us. This fugue was not completed by the composer. A lot of musicians suppose that it's not a fugue a 3 soggetti (based on 3 themes) but a fugue a 4 sogetti. The 4th theme for this fugue might probably be the very first theme from this cycle (it would be logical). And all 4 themes would appear together in the missing part of this great fugue.
I tried to reconstruct this plan... In this perfomance you will hear the virtual last page of the fugue were all 4 subjects are combined.
Recorded from my state exam at the conservatory.
You will also hear the sounds of real bells at the end of the record. There is no arrangement here! There is a church near the conservatory, and the bells began to ring while I was playing.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• bach
• kunst
• der
• fuge
• art
• of
• fugue
• fuga
• sogetti
• theme
• unfinished
• last
• contrapunctus
• kontrapunkt
• gryaznov
• 14

[tomaszorganista]

That fugue shouldn't be finished! Bach died during composing this great and his last fugue, so that there is nobody who is appropriate to complete it, because no one of us is Bach! It must be intermitted in place where Bach stop writing it, and where is his son adnotation. Please remeber it.

[PianistXXI]

@tomaszorganista

please, tell me, how do you know what we must do? :)

About fugue. Please remember, that process of composing almost every fugue especially with more then one theme starts from the end. So, I suppose, it was clear for Bach what would happen at the end of his last fugue. The fugue was finished in his mind long time before he dead.

[tomaszorganista]

@PianistXXI

Yes, I agree with you that Bach knew how he would start and finished his fugue but if it was unfinished we can only try to end that fugue. I've listened to many interpretations of completed editions of that fugue and some of them has been really nice but it could be noticed that they have not been finished by Bach. With all regard if there is somewhere new John Sebastian Bach of our period who knows how to finish that fugue? :)

[PianistXXI]

@tomaszorganista

There is no new Bach.And will never be, probably.But greatest musician and composer J.S. Bach was a real person, not the God. Our mission as musicians to perform this last Fugue as we understand and feel it. My ending for this piece is just a part of my interpretation, the musical sense of the Fugue as I imagine it, no more. It is my right as a performer. And no one has right to prohibit any attempt to finish this huge work. Not you, nor me. Only Bach could do it. And the God.

[hspank]

this is better than the glenn gould version.

[PianistXXI]

Thank you, but for me no one plays this contrapunctus better than Gould :)

unfortunately he hasn't left his own completion of the last fugue..

[astraioshh]

Musical genius combined with mathematical perfection. This is Bach.

This is not from this world.

Greetings from Hamburg

[1985OMD]

Quite right, Germany has produced not only fantastic cars and many other stuff, but also geniuses such as Bach, Beethoven, Einstein, Max Planck.

[Geopholus]

I stand with those who argue Bach intended to add the forth theme, and that at least he considered adding it to the Art of Fugue, Actually it follows so naturally in tone as a variation on the general themes of A o F as well as the oft mentioned synchonicity with the (assumed) fourth theme brought in from the earlier fugue, as well as the testimony of JSBs son at his memorial,. it is inescapable...You have used some of JSBs devices to achieve harmonious voice leading ! Bravo ! !

[Geopholus]

I am Astonished that you have given us such a Beauty.! One of my favorite puzzles and apparently that of many of the respondents is how Bach might have finished this work. You have given us an intriguing and magically rendered possibility. I love the way you have played it,, obviously with the informed spirit of a composer (yourself) and a scholar of JSB, esp your handling of the often troublesome measure 220 end figure, and 223. Nice to see insightful comments from others, like Tedly !

[rsns311257]

Very well played, thank you, really beautiful, very cantabile and yet expressive and dramatic. Even if I am not totally convinced that this fugue belongs to the art of fugue and therefore think the stretto is the begining of the termination of the fugue, and that the AoF theme needs not appear, I liked your ending.

[robertgift]

Wonderful playing!

Interesting ending.

Thank you.

[PsyberJocker]

@1985OMD Handel was german too :)

[thebloads]

@PianistXXI actually i can concur with hspank. Your articuation is miraculous! (an adjective very much in keeping with the religious effusiveness of youtube commentors).

[lebutzke1890]

@tomaszorganista I think that it is a very refreshing project in composition to do such efforts as completing a work that there are indications that it would have been completed had the composer lived, as also to reconstruct possible scores for works that have been lost otherwise.

[endofthecorridor]

What a lovely completion. The performance is first rate too. You must record it properly one day.

[MEpianist]

How are you supposed to play that damn other staff?

[tedly10027]

2) in doing so - can people accuse schoenberg - whether he "improved" the orchestration or not ( i think he actually did ) - of "destroying" the originals? not really -- they still exist . bach's original stands as it stands, unfinished and leaving US the question:

"what follows next, Master Johann ?...." and he was silenced by passing away ....and some of us want to imagine what it "might be"...and so write our own "guess" to the question left by Bach. why should that be condemned?.