Johann Sebastian Bach - Piano Transcriptions Vol. 4 - Samuil Feinberg (Martin Roscoe)

Information

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

CD1:

1. Prelude and Fugue in E minor 'The wedge', BWV 548 (arr. Samuil Feinberg): Prelude
2. Prelude and Fugue in E minor 'The wedge', BWV 548 (arr. Samuil Feinberg): Fugue
3. Largo (Movement 2 of Trio Sonata in C major, BWV 529) (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
4. Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 663 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
5. Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 711 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
6. Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 662 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
7. An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
8. Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 720 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
9. Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, BWV 658 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
10. Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, BWV 647 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
11. Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
12. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend, BWV 655 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
13. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, BWV 665 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
14. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
15. Ach bleib' bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)
16. Valet will ich dir geben, BWV 735 (arr. Samuil Feinberg)

CD2:

1. Concerto in A minor, RV 522, BWV 593 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & Samuil Feinberg): Allegro
2. Concerto in A minor, RV 522, BWV 593 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & Samuil Feinberg): Adagio
3. Concerto in A minor, RV 522, BWV 593 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & Samuil Feinberg): Allegro

Martin Roscoe, piano
Date: 2004
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67468

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Review

Transcriptions, true, but these are sensitive arrangements faithful to the music’s spirit

Once they were in fashion, then they were frowned upon. Artur Schnabel refused to play Bach ‘transcriptions or arrangements of any kind’ and described Busoni’s version of the Chaconne from the Violin Partita as having ‘a kind of sensuousness, impurity or bombast which seems to be absolutely foreign to Bach’s essential qualities’. But Bach transcribed his own music and that of others, too, mostly for practical purposes.

Busoni might have arranged the Chaconne to widen its emotional scope, but he rearranged Bach’s organ works for piano because he wanted them to be played in the concert hall. The great Odessa-born pianist Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962) had a more cogent reason. Russian Orthodox churches had no organs (says Christophe Sirodeau in the booklet-note) so the music could only be heard through another medium.

‘The object of an arrangement is to make that which was written in one musical language intelligible in another,’ according to Hubert Parry. Intelligibility is retained here because, like Busoni, Feinberg also did the job skilfully and with the best of intentions. In this recording of all Feinberg’s transcriptions, Martin Roscoe’s interpretations reflect both the sensitivity behind the undertaking and the spirit behind the music.

The Largo from the Trio Sonata, BWV529 is not only movingly played, it is also an apposite illustration of Roscoe’s mastery at separating inner strands yet offering that sense of wholeness characteristic of an organ. The chorale prelude Ein feste Burg is also beautifully presented while the Concerto in A minor, BWV593 (a transcription of a transcription) sweeps along majestically.

-- Nalen Anthoni, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/h/hyp67468a.php
https://www.amazon.com/Bach-J-S-Piano-Transcriptions-Vol-4/dp/B0002VSS5Q

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from Italy and France. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

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Martin Roscoe (born 3 August 1952 in Halton, Runcorn, Cheshire) is an English classical pianist, who performs as a concerto soloist, as a recitalist and as a chamber musician. He studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music with Gordon Green and Marjorie Clementi. He has a repertoire of over 100 concertos performed or recorded. His chamber music partnerships include Peter Donohoe, Tasmin Little, Jennifer Pike and many more. Having had over 500 broadcasts, including seven BBC Prom appearances, Martin is one of the most regularly played pianists on BBC Radio 3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Roscoe

http://www.martinroscoe.co.uk

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