I had the privilege of hearing Szeryng perform this same piece on a recital back in 1967. He walked into the recital hall five minutes before he was to play. Quickly tuned his instrument and without warming up sounded just like he does here.
Now this is how Bach needs to be played! Not just plain robotic technical performing - as with so many undoubtedly talented musicians - but within the music itself. Brilliant.
In my opinion, this is the best Bach ever. I'm also very fond of Menuhin and Milstein's interpretations. But man, to me this guy really understands Bach. I believe Bach would've enjoyed listening to him very much.
Holy shit. I think that's as close to perfect as one can get with playing this piece. Amazing. That was out of this world, really. This interpretation and performance belong to the category of what one could call "transcendental"
Brilliant. One of the most difficult pieces of music ever written' in my opinion and he played it perfectly. Any one thinks this sounds "mechanical" knows little.
My God! this guy is just so perfect--his intonation, blow placement, everything! Wow! And I thought Hilary Hahn was one of a kind. This guy is way above her!
I heard from someone who played with Henryk szeryng for four years in the 70's that he never really practiced any of his repertoire that much except for Bach, which he practiced every day of his life. By listening to this Bach it makes me wonder how amazing he would have been at other pieces had he worked just as hard on them.
Here exists true essential fugue that was played by a certain great violinist which is called Henryk Szeryng. Thanks to him, we were able to comprehend what J.S Bach's fugue is basically. From Tokyo
Well, Bach played violin himself so he obviously knew exactly what the instrument was capable of. This is such a great performance, I love the steady timing of the opening, he doesnt rush at all. Easier said than done! Best video on here.
Amazing, I'm an old-school's enthusiastic. I really liked that version and the proprierty from Mr. Szeryng not only at the violin but at each of the composer's posible intentions about the piece.
Simply wonderful. I find that Szeryng somehow expresses pathos in a most .captivating way, a most beautiful and longing expression. thumbs way up on this.
this has to be one of the towering compositions for any solo instrument for all time. when i listen i can't figure out how one violin is playing all the parts so i thought i would waatch it and maybe then... i still can't grasp it. imagine the genius of bach writing this gorgeous stuff and having to keep track of what the player can do physically. mind boggling.
Splendid...I remember a concert 40 years ago where Szerying generously offered this as an encore after a concerto, and even in a very large hall achieved a marvellous transparency in the separation of the voices.
Oh! I have no word about his Bach Fuga articulation at all. I would feel that his Bach musical interpretation is so graceful and appropriate tempo is beautiful. to be sure, that's depend on his skillful articulated bowing yeah! veryvery nice touch. (91yrs.Japanese)
Javier Montiel yes, now the new generation only listens to Hillary Hahn, or ray Chen who are both great but not on par with the great masters of the 20th century
Both generations of violinists are great in their own way. It’s wrong to compare those two, time has changed and the way of playing changed as well, none is superior than the other. Personal taste is of course a different topic, but stating, that one is better than the other is wrong in my opinion!
Oh I forgot to mention, this guy has the most accurate intonation I've ever heard. I've watched every video of Henryk Szeryng on youtube and I haven't heard a single flat or sharp note in any of his performances. I can't say that about any other violinist I've ever listened to.
This is the best Fugue in Gm I've heard sofar . Thanks goodness that Henryk Szeryng did ignore the " Allegro " indication on many printed scores of this fugue to bring out all the contrapuntal voices so clearly . And lots of thanks to SamLee0519 for posting this clip .
In my opinion, Szeryng is THE best Bach violinist. I could never decide who my favorite Bach player was until I heard Szeryng play the Chaconne and suddenly it became very clear to me who my favorite Bach violinist was.
wow... i was entranced. the music was very charismatic, and it was like ... i was only thinking about Fuga. i watched the entire thing, with nothing on my mind. That is a magnificient performance, in my opinion.
The two pieces are so different, that I will not indulge into comparing them. All I can say is that it takes supreme artistic sense to play either well (at least by my standard as a listener). Many "Masters" just weren't able to deliver when it came down to these two monumental works and I think it takes more than just technical mastery to get them even close to what they are. Szeryng is one of the few who could pull it off in my opinion.
szeryng is THE ONE and only. when playing the most difficult passages, his tone never suffers, in contrast to some of today's supposed greats, who sound more like they're playing a kazoo when they get to the challenging parts.
in my opinion this is the best version sound-wide so far. his volume is unbelievably huge. look at the frame of his right arm, never drops. every note rings. he must feel the vibration of the violin from his head to toes. most likely his violin was better than heifetz's. therefore it sounds like szeryng played much better.
I think it would be a mistake to say that Heifetz sounded worse or better than Szeryng - both were great violinists and had a totally different sound. If they were to switch violins, you would probably not notice a lot of difference (if you give them a few months to get used to the other's violin). Thing about this - when a great violinist changes instrument during their lifetime (like Oistrakh did at least 3 times in his life), how is it that their sound does not significantly change? The reason is that most of what you hear as the sound is in fact the player's personalized style, which doesn't depend so much on the violin
What a remarkable performance of one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. Bach owns. Although Szeryng's interpretation is quite impressive, Grumiaux plays a bit more clearly and concisely in my opinion. His interpretation has to be the most perfect I've heard, but Szeryng is a close second!
