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CDA67301/2 - Bach: The Well-tempered Clavier, Vol. 1
CDA67301/2

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Well-tempered Clavier, Vol. 1

Angela Hewitt (piano)
2CDs Download only
Previously issued on CDS44291/4
Label: Hyperion
Recording details: Various dates
Beethovensaal, Hannover, Germany
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: September 1998
Total duration: 116 minutes 7 seconds
 

Here is Book 1 of Bach's immortal 'Forty-eight' played by Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt of whose recording of the Partitas Australia's Soundscapes magazine said: 'Only superlatives will do. My appreciation of this Canadian pianist is enormous; I classify her among the top performers of our time.' And Gramophone said of the same set: 'Hardline purists who baulk at the thought of Bach on the piano should put aside their convictions long enough to hear Angela Hewitt.'

Angela Hewitt's '48' (Book 2 will be issued next year) is destined to join the small list of the very greatest recordings of Bach's incomparable masterpiece.

The set is graced by her own absorbing and perceptive notes on each of the Preludes and Fugues, the subjects of which are all printed in the CD booklet.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set The Well-tempered Clavier: ‘If you missed Hewitt's '48' the first time around, don't look this gift horse in the mouth’ (Classics Today).

Awards

GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE PICK OF THE MONTH AND BEST OF THE YEAR
PENGUIN GUIDE ROSETTE

Reviews

‘The first recorded performances by a pianist of Book I that have made me want to hear them many times over. Strongly recommended’ (Gramophone)

‘Hewitt has set a new benchmark. Her touch is admirably clear and light … and she is uniquely attuned to Bach’s supple, sprightly rhyhms. A '48' of exceptional grace and beauty. I know of no musician whose Bach playing on any instrument is of greater subtlety, beauty of tone, persuasiveness of judgement or instrumental command than Hewitt's is here’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Performances of exceptional grace and beauty … Angela Hewitt's version of Book I eclipses all others; hers will become the benchmark recording … special and uniquely enchanting’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘An inspirational set’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

‘Winner of numerous prizes, these have already become benchmark recordings, with performances of character and conviction that marry the best of old and new, using the full-range of colour afforded by a grand piano while articulating ornaments and counterpoint with astounding clarity. First-rate also are her programme notes, which are personal, informative and utterly unpretentious’ (International Record Review)

‘The Canadian pianist may not regard herself as a Bach specialist, but her brilliant and profoundly musical playing of the first 24 preludes and fugues of the "48" goes straight to the top of available piano versions’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Among modern-day piano recordings of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Angela Hewitt's has long held a favored place for its stylish perception, controlled virtuosity, intelligent application of dynamics, and warm, beautifully balanced sonics … if you missed Hewitt's '48' the first time around, don't look this gift horse in the mouth’ (Classics Today)

'Bach construyó aquel impresionante monumento musical con una sensibilidad pedagógica … quienes atienden esta obra de arte son ahora no los aprendices, sino fundamentalmente los grandes músicos. Y este reto se lo ha planteado con estupendo resultado, por su frescura y por su intensidad y musicalidad, la pianista britá' (La Vanguardia, Spain)

Other albums in this series

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