Bach - English Suite No. 5 in E minor, BWV 810 (Robert Levin, Alan Curtis)

[@Alaedious]

That prelude is astonishing! 😲

[@lexiferenczy9695]

When even Preludes are Fugues...

[@authenticmusic4815]

Ikr lmaooo

[@HowardTse]

When even Gigue is a Fugue....

[@SeverusSnape70]

@@HowardTse I was thinking the same!

[@KaikhosruShapurjiMedtner]

Everything is a fugue to Bach.

[@Jayantan846]

😂😂😂

[@andrewashdown3541]

I listen to the English & French Suites everyday ... nothing in all music (IMO) is so sonically clear and crisp, so satisfying harmonically and rhythmically

[@SlateFx]

Interesting rhythm is the forefront here I agree, some movements are so unique, unlike anything you have heard.

[@НатальяКупреева-и1н]

Божественная музыка, слушаешь и не хочешь,что бы она заканчивалась...великий , неповторимый Бах...не знаю ничего лучше ! .исполнителю браво ,браво, браво!!!❤

[@bartoszmaniecki1806]

0:01 4:37 7:36 9:40 12:23 13:45 14:35 15:58

[@op-xv3ui]

That gigue is astonishing. It’s almost a bit frightening.

[@alexanderbayramov2626]

Yeah, nearly hysterical, hope Bach was ok when he wrote such kind of music :D

[@shawardara]

Breathtaking.

[@johnbogle59]

Agreed it’s like a bolting horse yet the way this guy plays it it seems so right. Normally I hate Bach too fast but this doesn’t seem too fast it seems to invite the pace of prestissimo. Other performers let it dawdle which seems wrong . I’m sure Bach intended this speed . Too much coffee at the local cafe probably got him wound up.

[@shaerens]

It's almost vertiginous to play.

[@nunziomeatballs]

Bars 21-26 are just inversions of each other in both hands over and over crazy.

[@arcturus4067]

Fantastic. The Gigue is a masterpiece!

[@HowardTse]

I'm confused why Prelude and Gigue are in Fugue form..... Yeah ok he is BACH

[@mikolajkrakowiak8365]

Gigues are usually written using contrapuntal and fugal structures.

[@pedermklegaard1988]

The sarabande is such a masterpiece!

[@Itemtotem]

Such great tone, touch, and clarity

[@universoyoutuber5744]

that gigue is amazing!

[@hasooon7056]

Me: clicks on video for my piano competition The video: *GRAMMARLY DOES MORE THAN CATCH ERRORS*

[@egorm1672]

Same here

[@nikolatesla8108]

Perfect , perfect, perfect... :-)

[@mouldy_bowl_of_primordial_4204]

This is so beautiful, impressive and overwhelming.

[@Schleiermacher1000]

thanks for tis wonderful video!

[@ТатьянаКулинич-й7у]

Да простит меня рояль,на клавесине звучит убедительнее и богаче!

[@fredvacher3998]

Thank you for this wonderful post! Both versions are beautiful. For me, this post proves that Bach's writing has nothing to do with the percussive character of the piano. It's like listening to a muted version first! See the gigue that sounds very colourful but a bit frightening and aggressive on the piano (and it's not the artist to blame. On the contrary he renders lots of beautiful colours and energy) whereas it s utter beauty on the harpsichord (the articulation and moving forward performed by the artist are so nice too). Johann Sebastian was just not interested in the pianoforte and we will never know how he would have written for it. Definitely not like for the harpsichord whose resonance is so typical and induces this waterfall of notes and gracefulness. Thank you very much!

[@XavierMacX]

Completely disagree. While the sonorous resonance of the harpsichord is great, I think a lot of Bach's later works are almost objectively better [specifically from a sonic perspective] on the piano, as the tied and held notes can sing and there's a lot more dynamic variation that can be created within the voicing of fugal sections. Early on in my music career professors had a weird, almost religious, tie to being "authentic" and turning their noses down at Baroque keyboard music on piano. That paradigm has shifted dramatically (along with the outdated "not using sheet music during solo performances") and that's definitely for the better. To be clear, there is plenty that the harpsichord can do that the piano can't and vice versa. That's why I like, and play, both. If there were any of Bach's keyboard works that were supposed to be anxiety-inducing or frightening, this is one of them, and I would argue it achieved that effect much better on the piano. It's also very easy to change up the interpretation of this piece in a non-frightening way on the piano, if that was your only qualm with it. I studied with George Lucktenberg, Baroque master (and admitted snob about it), and before his death he even agreed late Bach keyboard is equally divine on piano and harpsichord. (He would also include pianoforte/clavichord in there, which I won't argue with, but I could never get into.)

[@fredvacher3998]

@@XavierMacX thank you very much for this comment, which is based on taste and experience! But you ve not changed my mind! For me there is always one moment in a harpsichord work by Jean-Sebastien Bach when played on the piano that makes me regret the original instrument for which the piece was crafted. Maybe the slow movements, or also the movements that are clearly dances and inspired by French harpsichord pieces. So that s a lot of them! Don t get me wrong : I ll prefer it well played on the piano than badly played on a harpsichord😉 And there are really great interpretations on the piano. (yet, as a trumpet doesn t play the part of the trombone, the piano shouldn t play the part of the harpsichord!). I ve heard Satie or Chopin on the harpsichord : not really convincing!!!!

[@fredvacher3998]

@@XavierMacX I see the harpsichord as a super lute, so marking the end of an era, majestically crowned by the art of Jean-Sebastian Bach (in the same way as Mozart crowned the opera seria era). The sons of Jean-Sebastien have happily used the other keyboards available and that s a great change in sound, style, expression ... I don t know them enough. They are worth listening! Mozart's or even Beethoven's early keyboard pieces sound very well on the harpsichord. Probably because that was the instrument they had at home. Then they composed differently according to the different instruments they had. Beethoven's piano sonatas are for all sorts of pianos!!!!!

[@arcturus4067]

@@fredvacher3998 well despite your disagreements with XavierMacX, I think you Both are right! Whether one prefers Bach's keyboard works on harpsichord, or piano, or both, or even if Bach preferred how his keyboard works sounded on harpsichord, the timelessness of his music is such that it transcends even our different tastes! Personally I usually prefer them played on the piano but there are times I prefer some pieces on the harpsichord. To each, enjoy his music to their own tastes. Cheers!

[@jakubskrzeczkowski7310]

16:34, 17:54

[@DavitMinasyan-rn3fv]

very similar to the g minor english suite

[@Lircking]

the great bach fugue convergence - given enough time, bach turns all pieces into fugues, as they are insufficiently musical otherwise

[@EttorealbertoGelli-vr6sz]

SPIRIT COMES ON EARTH. 1685...!!!

[@julienjulien6228]

Robert Levin : Jeu mécanique d'une platitude consternante. Aucun sens du baroque : à fuir ! A mechanical playing of incredible flatness. No sense of the baroque language : to be avoided !

[@rravvia]

Yeah I don't really understand that way of doing Bach.

[@EttorealbertoGelli-vr6sz]

AGREE