Your favorite J.S. Bach


On 28 July 1750 J.S.Bach died. Lets hear what are you going to "spin" tonight to celebrate the remembrance to one of the greatest gifts to humanity?!

Goldberg Variations by Vladimir Feltsman (please listen to the 1. Aria)
eldragon
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Pinnock/English Concert, Archiv 2742003

Cello Suite No 2 in d, Starker, Mercury SR3-9016
--fifth brandenburger
--musical offering
--d minor concerto for two violins
--two part inventions(because of the sweat it cost me to learn to play a few of them)
Christopher Herrick playing the Trio Sonatas on the organ (Hyperion CD). I once asked him which of the trio sonatas was his favorite, and his response was "Whichever one I'm playing at the time!".
In recent weeks, the CD player has been repeatedly spinning two recordings of Bach on modern piano:

* Angela Hewitt's glorious performance of the Toccatas (on Hyperion)
* Andras Schiff's probing new recording of the Goldberg Variations (on ECM)
The best performance of Bach I've ever known was with Jacques Loussier trio...
Two different, but equally wonderful versions of the Goldberg Variations: Glenn Gould (2nd version) and Murray Perahia. Both are available on SACD and are well recorded.
Enjoy!
Joe
The Art of the Fugue, traditional by the Emerson, but there is a twenty year old funky Lucas Foss version done in two releases, a multi mike and a three mike.
Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
Nathan Milstein
DG 457-701-2 (2CD)

Solo Cello Suites 1-6
Heinrich Schiff
EMI 7474718 (2CD)

Various pieces transcribed for piano and played by
Wilhelm Kempff
DG 439-108-2
1.the art of fugue-zoltan koscis, piano/philips cd. not a great recording though, but i like the tempo.
2.hilary hahn does a (very) nice job on the violin sonatas/partitas and the recording is 1st rate (sony).
Since I consider Bach to be an emotional 'touchstone' hardly a day goes by that I don't 'spin' Bach.
The Organ Works
Fantasy and Fugue in g (Newman - Richter (DGG)- Michael Murray -TelArc)

The Lute Suites (Lutz Kirschoff - Sony is in the CD player in my car as we speak)
c minor in particular - Sarabande and Gigue (Konrad Junghanel - Accent )

Christmas Oratorio (Herreweghe -Phillips)
Bereite Dicht, Zion, mit zartlichen Trieben

Suite for viola da gamba g BWV 1029 (Dreyfus - Simax)

...in this moment at least
I really love Milstein's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
I also like The Art of Fugue by the Emerson Quartet. Even though I'm an aggressive atheist, it sounds like what angels would sound like if there were angels!
For me Bach's organ music is in a class by itself--inexhaustible. I've got a shelf full of it. My current favorites are Toccatas and Fugues, Joan Lippincott plays the Flentrop organ of Duke University Chapel, Gothic (a 1997 release), and Preludes and Fugues, Joan Lippincott plays the Paul Fritts organ of Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA, Gothic (a 2002 release). Major music, superb performances on well-chosen instruments, state-of-the-art sound. The cumulative power of Lippincott's performance of the great Passacaglia in C Minor BWV 582) is spellbinding.
Rustler,
I am not trying to turn this thread in another direction, but what is the difference between an athiest and an "aggressive athiest"?
St. Matthew Passion, Gardiner is my long standing favourite, nowadays, however, I listen more the St. Johannes Passion, Harnancourt.
Another vote for Nathan Milstein's sonatas and partitas.

I'm also partial to the cello suites, but I prefer Starker's readings on Mercury.
Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould second version (first is still good)
4th partita - Willian Kappel
Cello Suits - Paolo Beschi on Winter&Winter (this is pretty much the best quality recording ive ever hear) recorded on period baroque cello with no processing in an italian villa...it sounds pretty much perfect, and the performance is excellent.
I'll second the votes for Milstein's violin sonatas and partitas on DG and for Pierre Fournier's cello suites on DG.
I find lute player Nigel North' version of the cello suites fantastic, he has transformed the suites' basic two part inventions into beautiful, at times almost orchestral sounding, 3 and 4 part harmony, while still maintaining the intimacy of the suites.
His phrasing is as natural as breathing.
I rank his interpretations as good as Bylsma and Wispelwey.
Linn is having a sale on the complete collection of ''Bach on the Lute'' right now.
Highly recommended.
Gould, 2nd Goldberg; Lucy Van Dael, unaccompanied violin S&P;Eliot Fisk or Oscar Ghiglia, guitar transcriptions
Nigel North;
Bach on the Lute is fantastic.He is playing the cello suites on the lute and it is adding a whole new dimension to the suites, check it out!
Linn has a sale at the moment on the whole box set.
highly recommended.