Johann Sebastian Bach - Piano Transcriptions Vol. 7 - Max Reger (Markus Becker)

Information

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

CD1:

1. Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 (arr. Max Reger): Prelude
2. Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 (arr. Max Reger): Fugue
3. O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde gross, BWV 622 (arr. Max Reger)
4. Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BWV 637 (arr. Max Reger)
5. Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig, BWV 644 (arr. Max Reger)
6. Nun danket alle Gott, BWV 657 (arr. Max Reger)
7. Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727 (arr. Max Reger)
8. Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein 'Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit', BWV 668 (arr. Max Reger)
9. Valet will ich dir geben, BWV 736 (arr. Max Reger)
10. Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 638 (arr. Max Reger)
11. Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 730 (arr. Max Reger)
12. Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her, BWV 606 (arr. Max Reger)
13. Prelude and Fugue in E flat major 'St Anne', BWV 552 (arr. Max Reger): Prelude
14. Prelude and Fugue in E flat major 'St Anne', BWV 552 (arr. Max Reger): Fugue

CD2:

1. Prelude and Fugue in E minor 'The Wedge', BWV 548 (arr. Max Reger): Prelude
2. Prelude and Fugue in E minor 'The Wedge', BWV 548 (arr. Max Reger): Fugue
3. Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV Anh. 171 (Johann Pachelbel, arr. Max Reger)
4. Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 (arr. Max Reger)
5. An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653b (arr. Max Reger)
6. Komm, heiliger Geist, BWV 651 (arr. Max Reger)
7. Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654 (arr. Max Reger)
8. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614 (arr. Max Reger)
9. Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (arr. Max Reger)

Markus Becker, piano
Date: 2009
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67683

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Review

Becker’s approach to organ music on the piano gives the best of both worlds

The problem for the pianist tackling organ music is the necessity on the piano to incorporate pedal parts into music for two hands alone, and to create a dynamic contrast in the usual subtle pianistic manner. Reger had the great advantage that he was equally proficient, at a virtuoso level, on both instruments, and that was fortunate, for playing the pedal part as left-hand octaves as well as sustaining the texture (to quote Francis Pott, the writer of the disc documentation) “demands rapid upward crossings of left-hand fingers over the thumb and a minimising of the inevitable desynchronisation that results”. The response in the expert and highly musical hands of Markus Becker is most satisfying – to my ears a new kind of Bach sound which belongs to both piano and organ, and may be enjoyed by those who find the organ alone overwhelming.

The great variety of music offered on this pair of discs includes four large-scale works which require and receive resourceful virtuosity, as well as many less complex pieces which are quite lovely. Let me take one of each kind. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV614, is slow and thoughtful, yet is made serenely beautiful in Becker’s glowing performance. On the other hand our old friend the D minor Toccata and Fugue (perhaps not by Bach at all) brings an interplay of the imitative part-writing which is superbly articulated and full of colour, while we can hear the “organ effect” from the piano’s sustaining pedal, generously applied. The result is just fascinating, and I do recommend you to try this collection. It really is rewarding.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Nov09/Reger_CDA67683.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/reger-complete-bach-piano-transcriptions-vol-7-mw0001422297
https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Piano-Transcriptions-Vol-Walter/dp/B000EFTE8A

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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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Markus Becker (born 1963) is a German pianist. Becker studied with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and gained additional inspiration with Alfred Brendel. In 1987 he won first prize at the international Brahms Competition in Hamburg, followed by numerous awards in Germany and abroad. He has been a Professor at the Musikhochschule Hannover since 1993. Following his acclaimed CD debut with the F sharp minor Sonatas of Johannes Brahms and Schumann and further recordings for harmonia mundi and EMI classics, Markus Becker recorded the first complete edition of Max Reger's piano works for Thorofon.

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Becker-Markus.htm
http://www.markusbecker-pianist.de/english-the-pianist.html

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