Henryk Szeryng plays Bach Fuga from Sonata No. 1

[@Treborstuben]

I had the privilege of hearing Szeryng perform this same piece on a recital back in 1967. He walked into the recital hall five minutes before he was to play. Quickly tuned his instrument and without warming up sounded just like he does here.

[@christianbartsch1184]

Itzhak Perlman

[@penny8va82]

What a beautiful and clear tone! This is how music should be. Pure and straight from the soul.

[@iuliam2851]

I'm glad finally someone doesn't play this piece at the speed of light

[@pandoraefretum]

he plays at the speed of sound

[@BH1827]

Amen to that!

[@norbertsarkozy]

Although I agree with you, I must add that dear Iulia M, your opinion does not matter at all.🙂

[@remoidoyaga2975]

Go to chek the record of lana trotoskev is beautiful

[@qtgrl113]

It's amazing how he can turn a ridiculously challenging piece of music and make it sound so clean and simple to play.

[@alsatiancousin2905]

Now this is how Bach needs to be played! Not just plain robotic technical performing - as with so many undoubtedly talented musicians - but within the music itself. Brilliant.

[@donsurlylyte]

and just the right tempo, it is not to be played fast.

[@fredlifsitz7411]

It’s hard to believe he’s been “gone” for so long- but Maestro Szeryng’s magnificent playing lives on. This is beautiful.

[@roshinitraynor917]

His intonation is so perfect and i love his interpretation :):)

[@bernie57]

unbelievably great performance of this demanding fugue, probably the greatest ever.

[@peachfuzz0523]

His playing is thoughtful, deliberate, and patient. A truly mature rendition =)

[@bllybao]

I have his Bach CD and I just listen to it again and again and again... It's so good

[@MomSaysImCool]

Master violinist, war hero, great humanitarian. Szeryng is caring.

[@crose58]

Simply wonderful. I find that Szeryng somehow expresses pathos in a most captivating way, a most beautiful and longing expression.

[@cchamp27]

Holy shit. I think that's as close to perfect as one can get with playing this piece. Amazing. That was out of this world, really. This interpretation and performance belong to the category of what one could call "transcendental"

[@voncarmelo]

Il più grande interprete di Bach. Le sue sonate per violino solo sono la bibbia, per noi violinisti. Grazie, maestro!!!!

[@lucadigioia2223]

wonderful.. thanks for Szeryng ;)

[@OrlandoAponte]

In my opinion, this is the best Bach ever. I'm also very fond of Menuhin and Milstein's interpretations. But man, to me this guy really understands Bach. I believe Bach would've enjoyed listening to him very much.

[@milstein91]

Nobody can play this fuga like him.There are no words to describe this.

[@CarolusInciusEtScoti]

Brilliant. One of the most difficult pieces of music ever written' in my opinion and he played it perfectly. Any one thinks this sounds "mechanical" knows little.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

switchblade and a viola Thanks.

[@hobanfan]

Splendid...I remember a concert 40 years ago where Szerying generously offered this as an encore after a concerto, and even in a very large hall achieved a marvellous transparency in the separation of the voices.

[@Violincrazy]

Well, Bach played violin himself so he obviously knew exactly what the instrument was capable of. This is such a great performance, I love the steady timing of the opening, he doesnt rush at all. Easier said than done! Best video on here.

[@crose58]

Simply wonderful. I find that Szeryng somehow expresses pathos in a most .captivating way, a most beautiful and longing expression. thumbs way up on this.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

Christopher Rose Poetic summation.

[@czimon]

My God! this guy is just so perfect--his intonation, blow placement, everything! Wow! And I thought Hilary Hahn was one of a kind. This guy is way above her!

[@cbradac]

a true performance of the famous fugue! outstanding. Bach's music at his finest

[@oracleofottawa]

Breathtaking utter perfection...

[@Nime64]

He has one of the best left hand formations ever. That's why he plays this with ease.

[@emtube9298]

I have never heard a bad recording by Szeryng. Tremendous polish, well-balanced, intellectually satisfying, unfailing technique, beautiful tone.

[@imjh1388]

can't really beat this interpretation! love it. thanks for posting

[@nachomarimba]

Amazing, I'm an old-school's enthusiastic. I really liked that version and the proprierty from Mr. Szeryng not only at the violin but at each of the composer's posible intentions about the piece.

[@OrlandoAponte]

I heard from someone who played with Henryk szeryng for four years in the 70's that he never really practiced any of his repertoire that much except for Bach, which he practiced every day of his life. By listening to this Bach it makes me wonder how amazing he would have been at other pieces had he worked just as hard on them.

[@高橋正博-s2u]

Here exists true essential fugue that was played by a certain great violinist which is called Henryk Szeryng. Thanks to him, we were able to comprehend what J.S Bach's fugue is basically. From Tokyo

[@assa123assa123]

heavenly music and heavenly playing. I really like it that way and feel like having found a beautiful treasure of violin playing.

[@voncarmelo]

Il suo Bach!!! Musa per tutti noi violinisti.... Grandissimo ed unico Szeryng.

[@shakindave]

this has to be one of the towering compositions for any solo instrument for all time. when i listen i can't figure out how one violin is playing all the parts so i thought i would waatch it and maybe then... i still can't grasp it. imagine the genius of bach writing this gorgeous stuff and having to keep track of what the player can do physically. mind boggling.

[@Soulill0quy]

it still boggles my mind how Bach could've thought of writing something like this on the violin.

[@gnatural]

his bow placement and control! its soo incredible!

[@wanimusician]

my favourite interpretation of this fugue. Love it so much. He influenced me a lot on my interpretation for this movement 💕 ^_^

[@xerotolerant]

This is literally the best thing i have ever heard out of a violin.EVER.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

xerotolerant Yep. Congrats!

[@rasmusblomberg7373]

@@kathrynmcmorrow7170 10 years later still, yup

[@萩原耕介]

Oh! I have no word about his Bach Fuga articulation at all. I would feel that his Bach musical interpretation is so graceful and appropriate tempo is beautiful. to be sure, that's depend on his skillful articulated bowing yeah! veryvery nice touch. (91yrs.Japanese)

[@tashgyatz]

I don't know. Something about the works of Bach just really strikes a chord in me.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

If this doesn't, nothing should!

[@matiasadrianchiodo]

nice pun for a piece full of chords

[@alexsaldarriaga8318]

😂😂😂

[@unnamedking1]

perfect. such clarity on the triple stops.

[@vnvnvn83]

this is the best intonation:)

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

Kanako Yanagida You'd be spot on.

[@henrykszeryng5900]

And so much more than this

[@zoliviol]

Not true at all. Many other versions just as clean as this one. Does get better.

[@marcofornaciari3042]

Molto più di best intonation

[@OrlandoAponte]

Oh I forgot to mention, this guy has the most accurate intonation I've ever heard. I've watched every video of Henryk Szeryng on youtube and I haven't heard a single flat or sharp note in any of his performances. I can't say that about any other violinist I've ever listened to.

[@slickdin]

His Bach interpretations are amazing. So clean and beautiful...

[@Milky111wtf]

This has to be my very favorite interpretation of my very favorite piece.

[@cornel999]

when it comes to Bach, everybody else is playing for 2nd place; Szeryng is the undisputed king.

[@frajam54]

New generations should listen the old masters...

[@2planksand2wheels92]

Javier Montiel yes, now the new generation only listens to Hillary Hahn, or ray Chen who are both great but not on par with the great masters of the 20th century

[@f3dyt]

@@2planksand2wheels92 I totally agree, and I'm 14... They were THE TRUE violinists.

[@pigmeowls8490]

Someone called that's old school?

[@dontunderestimatethepowero7823]

Both generations of violinists are great in their own way. It’s wrong to compare those two, time has changed and the way of playing changed as well, none is superior than the other. Personal taste is of course a different topic, but stating, that one is better than the other is wrong in my opinion!

[@Valcon18]

Not only his left, also his right hand/his bow technique is amazing!;)

[@fabriziodauria2590]

When the word “awesome” perfectly describes the object. This has a better sound than his other b/w video on KZbin.

[@MrCubsfan3]

18 people were jealous of Szeryng making this HARD piece look easy!!

[@binhmu]

This is the best Fugue in Gm I've heard sofar . Thanks goodness that Henryk Szeryng did ignore the " Allegro " indication on many printed scores of this fugue to bring out all the contrapuntal voices so clearly . And lots of thanks to SamLee0519 for posting this clip .

[@Napris]

wow... i was entranced. the music was very charismatic, and it was like ... i was only thinking about Fuga. i watched the entire thing, with nothing on my mind. That is a magnificient performance, in my opinion.

[@donsurlylyte]

one of the best interpretations, imo

[@ArhkV]

God Loves music, it's because of musicians like this I've never had to question why. ~

[@saracortes5441]

como hacia para tocar tan PERFECTO

[@crazy77town]

the best interpreter EVER of bach!!! EVER!! great szeryng, grande violonista e grande uomo

[@spinningwheel5230]

The two pieces are so different, that I will not indulge into comparing them. All I can say is that it takes supreme artistic sense to play either well (at least by my standard as a listener). Many "Masters" just weren't able to deliver when it came down to these two monumental works and I think it takes more than just technical mastery to get them even close to what they are. Szeryng is one of the few who could pull it off in my opinion.

[@c1HuK]

It's the best version I've ever heard...

[@Valcon18]

Its very interesting to hear this interpretation from Szeryng when you also play this Fuga and practise with the arranged notes from him!

[@jsbach40]

The best rendition of this piece I have ever heard. His chords and tonation are perfect. What violin is this? it sounds beautiful

[@barbaravalerioti3246]

no comment necessary. simply wonderful.

[@KyotoMelody]

Havent seen u for a long time. Thanks for ur wonderful videos in utube. :) also for this one. I love it. Thanks

[@montaejones]

i've fallen in love with him once again!!

[@speedyoncp]

I'm not into classical music much, even though I play the violin & piano. But I've gotta say: THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!!! :)

[@Chrismacleod777]

Absolutely magnificent!

[@codyHddican]

this is THE video that made me take up the violin this and presto are my 2 favorite pieces.

[@KremenaVenkova]

beautiful...:):)

[@spinningwheel5230]

Ahh... the fuge of the first. In my opinion one of the greatest pieces ever written for solo strings (there is a tranciption of it by Bach for the organ and lute btw, but nothing beat the violin here in my opinion). Szeryng is up there with the best of them, but I still think no one plays this particular piece better than Grumiaux whose interpretation for this piece is very unique. I love the discipline of Szeryng's left hand shown here though... excellent video.

[@cornel999]

GOAT - Greatest Of All Time

[@mrblitzman]

Woooow what a quality.... amazing

[@paoloXV]

Absolutely the greatest!

[@milstein91]

incredible,best fuga ever.

[@thepaladin1492]

This is beautiful...

[@paulostroff99]

Superb.TY SamLee for posting.

[@LatynaH]

perfecto ..

[@OrlandoAponte]

In my opinion, Szeryng is THE best Bach violinist. I could never decide who my favorite Bach player was until I heard Szeryng play the Chaconne and suddenly it became very clear to me who my favorite Bach violinist was.

[@Annihilator_5024]

i think hilary has taken over over the years!

[@wanimusician]

It is so beautiful!!

[@Lucuman91]

omg!! perfect, what a beatiful interpretation, thx for posting. I love this fugue, i can play it almost completely, the only problem i find is that you need a regular-good violin to lose all the cracky sounds that excessive chords can make, i prefer not playing it at home cause i make too much noise ^^.

[@anthonymezzapelle]

i feel ya buddy, this speaks to my soul

[@ernesttayu]

How does he make his bow so light? And his left hand is crazy good

[@supremok]

I love it!!!! he is the man!!!

[@DragnSly]

amazing how he makes it sound like two violins playing at once...

[@robotnik77]

I've heard many play Bach and Szeryng is beneath none of them and superior to many. Grumiaux's Bach is also of exceptional depth, as is this. This is a great performance and video. There's a little lag between audio and video but it is not worrisome. I wish I could put up a 7.

[@3NUNS]

Performance and interpretation beyond criticism.

[@GraniteQuarrier]

amazing

[@Tr0jan1337]

wow what incredible bow it seems very responsive also bigger than I am used to see.

[@sdeng888]

in my opinion this is the best version sound-wide so far. his volume is unbelievably huge. look at the frame of his right arm, never drops. every note rings. he must feel the vibration of the violin from his head to toes. most likely his violin was better than heifetz's. therefore it sounds like szeryng played much better.

[@sashaallan855]

I think it would be a mistake to say that Heifetz sounded worse or better than Szeryng - both were great violinists and had a totally different sound. If they were to switch violins, you would probably not notice a lot of difference (if you give them a few months to get used to the other's violin). Thing about this - when a great violinist changes instrument during their lifetime (like Oistrakh did at least 3 times in his life), how is it that their sound does not significantly change? The reason is that most of what you hear as the sound is in fact the player's personalized style, which doesn't depend so much on the violin

[@lesonyrra]

It doesn't hurt that this wonderful performance is widely available as an inexpensive "twofer" disk. Newer and glitzier isn't always better! Szeryng rules these pieces. :^)

[@OrlandoAponte]

Menuhin and Szeryng are my favorite Bach players.

[@nimbunimbu]

What a remarkable performance of one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. Bach owns. Although Szeryng's interpretation is quite impressive, Grumiaux plays a bit more clearly and concisely in my opinion. His interpretation has to be the most perfect I've heard, but Szeryng is a close second!

[@smwebster2]

Beautiful peace. Arthur Grumiaux's interpretation is by far one of the absolute best. He somehow knew exactly what mozart wanted out of his concertos, and could deliver the complex sonatas and fugas of bach effortlessly. Although the coldness in which Heiftz delivered this particular piece as well as the ciaconne still gives me chills.

[@death0personified]

this song is really difficult too, in my opinion of every movement in bachs first sonata this one takes the cake, but it sounds so cool ill master it one day

[@100crowns6]

The BEST!!

[@germaxco]

fantastic violin !!!!!!

[@IIllIIllIl]

agreed my friend, agreed. *tears*

[@violinharp]

perfect grade

[@erwinskitty]

szeryng is THE ONE and only. when playing the most difficult passages, his tone never suffers, in contrast to some of today's supposed greats, who sound more like they're playing a kazoo when they get to the challenging parts.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

erwinskitty God's truth.

[@gnatural]

the greatest for bach...hands down

[@clashtitans2]

omg! speechless ...

[@smwebster2]

Beautiful peace. Arthur Grumiaux's interpretation is by far one of the absolute best. He somehow knew exactly what mozart wanted out of his concertos, and could deliver the complex sonatas and fugas of bach effortlessly.

[@nirvananirvan55]

incredible