Bach - Keyboard Concertos Nos. 1, 4 & 5 (Gould) [1988]

Concerto No. 1 For Piano and Orchestra In D minor, BWV 1052 
1. I. Allegro	8:35
2. II. Adagio	7:12
3. III. Allegro	8:20
Concerto No. 4 For Piano and Orchestra In A Major, BWV 1055 
4. I. Allegro	4:12	
5. II. Larghetto	5:43	
6. III. Allegro ma non tanto	4:09
Concerto No. 5 For Piano and Orchestra In F minor, BWV 1056 
7. I. Allegro	3:40
8. II. Largo	3:02
9. III. Presto	3:45	

Glenn Gould – piano
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein – conductor

(CBS Masterworks – Great Performances 97)

This is some of the best music I've ever heard both in terms of the writing and the performance. I think J.S. Bach wrote some of the best music ever, and these are among his best pieces. I especially love the D-minor concerto; the slow middle movement is very beautiful, but it's the quick first and third/final movements which really excite me and blow my mind. It makes you wonder how something can be so clever in terms of musical structures (rhythms, harmonies, melodies, and counterpoint) and still come out sounding so darn good, natural, emotional, beautiful, etc. I mean it's not always easy to have a whole bunch of melodic lines sound that good independently of eachother and come together to form a perfect harmonic union. I know; I've tried.

I've heard at least one other performance of these concerti which were also excellent. At least one that I've heard featured the harpsichord instead of the modern grand piano. The orchestra may also have been using original period instruments. So it was closer to the way Bach would have performed it. It was just as good as this, but different. I can't speak for the maestro, but I'd like to think that Mr. Bach would have liked this performance, too.

On this performance, Glenn Gould sounds so good on the modern grand piano that it has to be heard to be believed. It's just perfect! He expresses so much emotion, fire, and drama without sacrificing one iota of precision. He's performing along with world-class conductors and orchestra musicians who sound as good as he does. I think this really belongs in your music collection! --- Nelson R. Willis "Rob Willis" (Pittsburgh, PA)

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