May 25, 2004

Well-tempered clavier

Posted by Chris

Tim Smith’s and David Korevaar’s page on Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier is one of the best things I’ve seen on the web in a long time. Click on the links and you get music, analysis, history and fantastic graphics. (via Michael Brooke )

Posted on May 25, 2004 02:18 PM UTC
Comments

Thanks for this link from a longtime WTC fan. I suppose we could turn this post into a lengthy thread if there were enough CT readers interested in the harpsichord vs. piano issue, or who want to tout their favorite recording of the piece. My vote’s for Feinberg on piano, with Richter, Demus and Schepkin as runners up.

Posted by fyreflye · May 25, 2004 03:55 PM

1. Sviatoslav Richter
2. Rosalyn Tureck (DG rather than BBC)
3. Glenn Gould
4. Edwin Fischer

Posted by Motoko Kusanagi · May 25, 2004 04:13 PM

I always loved the WTC, though I prefer Kunst der Fugue.

Posted by Sebastian Holsclaw · May 25, 2004 05:07 PM

OK, WTC fans: Can you recommend a great recording actually performed on a well-tempered instrument? Everyone seems to use plain old modern equal temperament, but much of the point of the Bach’s composition here is dealing with the constraints of the differences between the various keys that just don’t show up with equal temperament.

—PK

Posted by PK · May 25, 2004 05:16 PM
Followups

→ Well-Tempered Clavier Online.
Excerpt: Tim Smith, a music theorist and choral conductor at Northern Arizona University, has created a great website on Bach's two books of keyboard works exploring the limits of tuning and keys. This website combines scores with digital recordings of Smith'...Read more at Musical Perceptions

This discussion has been closed. Thanks to everyone who contributed.