It’s fiendishly difficult enough to play the notes but to achieve the sense of poise, control, and superb voicing as demonstrated here is a whole different challenge…
@@christianfthomsen you must be kidding...there is no comparison. one is played by a mature pianist whose interpretation can be compared with those of Richter or Gould....and the other is by a 10 year old girl (....with quite a few technical mistakes, not to mention the "depth" of the interpretation, voicing, etc....)...why would you even compare the two?
Excellent performance and fine pianism - from all aspects: articulation, chosen tempo, intelligent sensitive use of dynamics, their gradation, careful , minimizing use of the pedals, etc. I've also read your answer to one of the comments here below - giving a tip of practicing this specific piece, and was impressed by your understanding and musical interpretation, as well as your own individual decisions (like not arpeggiating the final chords). Bravo! Thanks for uploading
Yes, this is excellent playing and Mr. Gillham is a superb musician. But what exactly do you mean by 'interpreted?' All I hear is the music as Bach wrote it. What do you hear that I do not?
Brilliant. I see what you mean. This word "interpet" probably needs to go soon. It's a remnant from the darker ages. If we strive simply to play Bach, instead of ourselves, we will find the perfect performance.
Uh, playing it on piano very much requires interpretation. Harpsichords allow one little control over dynamics. Performing a piece like this on piano requires a myriad of decisions about emphasis, dynamics, and phrasing quite different from anything Bach might have heard. You undercut Mr. Gillham's achievement here.
Very great play ! The touching, Musical, image, and right way of Bach music. Even not lack of selves thinking. You make this piece BWV.916 sounds like one person talking, it's very interesting music and really amazing playing. I'm practice this piece also, and yours' version is my goal of learn.
Absolutely phenomenal how you bring out the different entries! Jayson, how did you practice this piece to be able to develop the strength, clarity, and speed? I'm working on it now and need a few tips
HI MagicMan, I usually practise contrapuntal works by isolating the different parts and playing them separately. Most people do that so that's a good start. But then I do something else which is to play all the parts except for one part - so for example if it's in four parts I'll choose to leave out the soprano and play the alto, tenor and bass. But I make it just a bit more difficult, by simultaneously singing the part that I'm not playing. This is quite difficult, especially when singing the inner parts, but always produces good results.
@@jaysongillham Hi Jason, i came up with the same cuntrapunctal practicing method for Bach in 2002 while i was a piano university student. The idea came to me from learning that in childhood J.S. Bach had sung in choir ensembles. Singing one part and playing another then two other parts, then all the others except that one was how i practiced. It makes a lot of possible combinations but was quite fun and an excellent exercise for developing pitch singing by the way. Also i went a step further than you and shadow played the part that I was singing (while really playing the others). By shadow playing i mean placing the fingers on the keys for that voice but not producing sound for those. This last step brings tremendous dynamic control separation of the voices. The graduate university professors jury that heard me in the recital hall that semester were absolutely stunned (i knew because i was stunned by their praise which i really did not expect. Some said my Bach was romantic but approved) and they probably thought it all came from being exceptionally talented when in fact it was good practice method, work and passion.
Sir, I find your interpretation of Bach's Chaconne to be very interesting. I'm intrigued as to how you were able to not arpeggiate the monster chords at the end; they stretch for up to a twelfth, which is an interval many pianists cannot reach (though it seems that you can). The non-arpeggiated approach really makes it have that grander atmosphere. Pardon, but I'd like to inquire as to how big your hand span is. Thank you!
Hello! Thank you for your very interesting question. I changed the chords at the end so I could play them without arpeggiating, as I felt it more sustained and grander that way, much as you say. My span is a tenth.
@@jaysongillham thanks for the wonderfully enlightening answer! It's also something that I've found myself doing for very similar reasons; sometimes it just doesn't feel as right to roll certain chords.
A few observations : The first movement, in common time, is marked Presto by our Mr.Bach. That was anything but presto. The last movement in 6:8 marked Allegro was more of a Presto. But full marks for dynamic control, balanced phrasing and a well thought out rubato in the middle section (just about perfect); all of which are key to capturing the spirit of Bach. P.S. There could have been a little more improvisation.
You really want the first movement faster and the last slower? These tempos are pretty standard for how this piece is performed -- by pianists and harpsichordists alike. The autograph for this and many other toccatas is missing. We have to rely on copies made by Bach's circle. The first movement, from these versions, is missing a tempo mark. The last movement's tempo mark is often, in fact, "allegro e presto". I'm afraid, therefore, that I cannot award full marks. :)
Some people enter a sort of mad realm when they're invited to comment on RU-vid performances. The tempos are perfect. Why would anyone comment on such.
Possibly because the choice of tempos is the most salient interpretive decision? Bach's music especially invites debate as the tempo markings are rarely explicit. Discussing interpretation is not a bad thing either. If one cares about what one listens to, one is certainly not going to love everything.
siento que le faltó usar correctamente el pedal y el motivo principal lo toco de varias formas, claro que... si me dijeran que antes lo toco correctamente y me digan que luego quiso tocan su interpretación es pasable, ya que bach de puede tocar de varias formas, pero siempre va a haber uno que proponga su mejor interpretación, las notas están, pero no es suficiente aun.
I would have to agree. Have you heard this pianist's performance of the Waldstein from the Cliburn? The finale is the epitome of clarity and brilliance. And he does the 8ve glissandos. Never a smudge anywhere.
First off, this is NOt "a toccata!" It's a sonata in three movements! Also,I've never thought this was a JS Bach piece! Especially that first section in G major. That sounds more like CPE or JC Bach to me. So that, plus the clear and rococo style makes me think its one of Bachs kids. Maybe Anna wrote it? Who knows? But it isnt JS, no way! The only movement that sounds remotely like JS is the last movement.
@@heinzgilbert Wow,what an ignorant statement! It is well known amongst music scholars that many pieces attributed to Bach were not written by him. Just checking the BMV number doesn't tell you anything about the authorship of the piece.
@@mrbrianmccarthy I see, you are one of the conspircy theorist around. If you listen to enough JS Bach and play them, you will realize that he wrote a lot of music in this style too. You are the one being ignorant here, not because YOU feel like it was written by one of his children that you will instantly make a BOLD conclusion.
@@heinzgilbert Hey moron, it is listed as possibly being spurious/not a JS Bach composition by many sources. So you need to do the research you suggest before coming on here and making an ass of yourself.
