J. S. Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (Excerpts) -Piotr Anderszewski

Contents

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750):

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 1 in C major, BWV870

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 12 in F minor, BWV881

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 17 in B-flat major, BWV886

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 8, BWV877

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 11 in F major, BWV880

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 22 B flat Minor, BWV891

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 7, BWV876

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 16 in G minor, BWV885

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 9 in E major, BWV878

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 18, BWV887

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 23 in B major, BWV892

Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 24, BWV893

While J. S. Bach’s compositional intentions with the Well-Tempered Clavier were ostensibly pedagogical, Piotr Anderszewski takes a dramaturgical approach all his own in this recording: instead of recording all 48 pairs of preludes and fugues from Bach’s collection in succession, the pianist focuses on 12 pairs of movements from the second book and brings them into a characteristically creative context of meaning. “I decided to put the pieces together in an order of my subjective choice, sometimes based on key relationships, other times on contrasts that seem to draw the pieces irresistibly together,” Anderszewski explains. “In music there is always a story, an emotional narrative, as one piece follows and relates to another … The idea of playing these works in this specific order is to create a sense of drama that suggests a cycle: 12 characters conversing and reflecting each other.”