As a young oboist, I went nuts hearing the 1st Brandemburgs for the first time. My parents gave me the Concentus Musicus record for my birthday, which I played until the needle reached the other side. I listened to every possible version at music libraries in college, love the Leonhart, the Casals with rehearsals,etc. I still marvel at how "Old Bach" could come up with such a melacholy inducing combo of harmonies in his second movement and trio section . These pieces have accompanied me for a very long time and I am happy to continue to discover new versions. And I will get to play it with my colleagues next week at Weill Hall!
My favorite recording is Karl Richter with the Munich Bach Orchestra. Righter himself plays the harpsichord in No. 5 and I think the cadenza is great. And the trumpet player in No. 2 is outstanding , especially the 3rd movement holy moley!
Interesting! I've always counted Bach among my favorite composers. At his best, and I'm thinking here of the B Minor Mass, the WTC and the Brandenburgs among many others, he combines intellectual rigor with musical expression as only the best composers can do. And even when Bach tilts more towards the intellectual (The Art of the Fugue, let's say) I find his music still reaches me, although more so when I have the score in hand and can follow the interlocking themes. And he's so transposable, whether it be recorder ensembles, Stokowski's lush orchestrations or jazz scat singing, it all sound good. Anyway, my opinion - but isn't it good to have different tastes and so much good music to choose from? Cheers!
Tremendously liberating to be advised by David Hurwitz that is ok not love Bach's every note. I wish I had not had to wait until I was seventy to hear it.
It's always interesting to see such stark differences in people's opinions, especially on Bach. For me personally, Bach is the greatest thing to happen to music, but I fully respect what you have to say, and I'm always impressed by your knowledge in general.
Accurate, non-biased reviews are especially useful from people who don't particularly interested in the music-- I think this increases objectivity and accuracy that distance provides. Most critics don't really accomplish this. Nicely done Dave!
When I first started to explore classical music almost 50 years ago, one of the first albums I bought was the Brandenburgs by the Collegium Aureum on RCA Victrola, with Leonhardt AND Linde, so I figure that's a combination of your two favorites! It's my own favorite to this day, and I still have that LP.
I am wicked psyched I found your videos! They are awesome! I don’t have a professionally trained ear but I always love to play the Brandenberg CD by Concerto Italiano. They make me really happy. Rock on dude!
You rightly observe that there are many different versions of Bach’s music, and that it never seems to matter what they do to it, it’s always identifiably Bach. I think, if I understood you right, that you suggested that it’s just so well made it can survive anything. Exactly; and that’s why I (and very many others) think that Bach is peerless. Just, the best. Ceaseless invention, always fresh and surprising. A constant delight. Don’t you just love the catch-me-quick game the strings play in the last movement of no 3 of the Brandenburgs?
Although I enjoy all of Dave's videos, this one in particular is a prime example of excellent music criticism. Dave describes the music, describes his criteria for evaluating performances, and then makes his recommendations based on his criteria. Many critics can do this, but what sets Dave apart is that he makes music criticism entertaining as well as informative. I'm glad I discovered his videos. Regarding the Brandenburgs, I have a soft spot for the first set I bought. It was on Nonesuch I believe, and conducted by Karl Ristenpart.
Wonderful video! I was actually surprised to see my favorite version among your recommendations - The Savall recording which also has a stellar cast of soloists which you failed to mention :) I hope you will do another video in the same vein about the Orchestral Suites. Thank you!
The Brandenburg concertos played by Leonhardt and Kuijkens (Seon 1977) are nice but the tempo is very slow. Much nicer imho is La Petite Bande (Kuijkens and others, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 1995). The tempo is a bit faster and the sound of horn (instead of trumpet) results in a freshness and more contrast. Overall a much more satisfying performance.
My long time favorite recording of the Brandenburg Concertos is with Karl Ristenpart and the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar recorded in the early '60s (I have seen different dates). The sound seems excellent, though not as dynamic as modern recordings. There are some well-known performers: Helmut Schneidewind, trumpet; Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Hans Martin Linde, recorder; and Robert Veyron Lacroix, harpsichord. There's even a rumor that Maurice Andre took some part. It's all nice and relaxed, sounds like fun, and some of the playing is virtuosic. I have liked listening to it for several decades, first on LP, and then in a box set called Bach Oeuvres pour orchestre. I also like Pinnock's early set, circa 1982. I have heard Karajan's 1964 recordings with the BPO, and parts are lovely, but the slow movements are way too slow.
Yes, the Ristenpart performances! I’ve long loved them, too, since first acquiring them on LP in the 1960s. Some of the solo playing isn’t exactly up to snuff - the horns in No. 1 are a bit wanting - but I still love the collection because of the sheer joy and warmth they convey. Second for me would be the Britten set. Per Mr. Hurwitz, I’m going to check out the I Musici recording which, in spite of adoring their other recordings (oh, those beautiful Corelli concerti grossi!), I’ve never heard.
Bach is the man for me! I like the good old non-HIPP recording of the ASMF/Marriner! I fond the tempi and interpretation just right. A lot of the more recent recordings I find tend to be far too fast! This one is just about right!
I just can't help loving the intellectual freedom of a musical critic stating that he does not love Bach (I do). But I couldn't be more in disagreement about the "there's not much to interpret" part: since JSB's music is almost indestructible, as you make perfectly clear, it allows great interpretative freedom. It has an infinite trove of surprises, undercurrents, rythms, voices that you can bring more or less under the spotlight. Even small interpretative choices count, while on more expansive music you feel the urge to make huge demonstrative gestures to make your mark! The real miracle of JSB's music is exactly that: being impossibly indestructible but non impassible. A sort of passionate steel, so to say. If you wanna play it as a mechanical toy you absolutely can, it's your choice - but it's not a mandatory one. One last thing, as Steve Jobs used to say: being an encyclopedic genius is a "defect" that could very well be recognized in your beloved Haydn! "Here's everything you can do with a classical symphony/string quartet/piano trio..." ;-)
Remember, I'm talking about these specific works, and even there I make an exception for the Fifth Concerto (because of the cadenza, primarily). Baroque orchestral music is, by nature, rather formulaic.
Wonderful review and presentation! Bach's music can be played anywhere with any instrument even on his son PDQ's favorite, the bagpipes, goes to show how great his music is. I like Savall's set the most followed by Pinnock, Leppard and Richter. Love the 6th concerto as much as the rest, I've always felt it serves as a beautiful coda after the 5th, but then I like listening to the gamba.....;-)
Ah! The Sixth is my favorite, too, because the dialogue between instruments is amazing! It's a prelude to Mozart's Sinfonia concertante (364) and the Brahms Double Concerto. All David's versions just show how great the music is; difficult to ruin whether you like Koussevitzky or the latest period group. I always enjoy Busch, with Rudolf Serkin on piano! . Didn't know Munch had a set! He and Pierre Monteux used to start out the Tanglewood season with two weekends of the "Bach-Mozart Concerts".
"You can play it underwater, you can play it in space", You can play them in a box. You can play them with a fox. You can play them in a house. You can play them with a mouse. You can play them here and there. Say! You can play them ANYWHERE! I do so like Bach's concertos! Thank you! Thank you, Dave-Hur-certo!"
Paillard chamber orchestra and Klemperer's 1960 are my favorites by a mile. I'm sure others may eventually compete but man these are so rich and lively despite their slower tempo.
I constantly return to the Colligium Aureum version from the 60's. Modern strings but period winds. Leonhardt plays No 5 too, and I've never heard a better played and balanced version of No 2 with Edward H. Tarr and Hans Martin Linde. Is the old Marriner/Dart version still around? The one with the French Horn in No 2 and Sopranino recorders in No 4?
I'm delighted to see that your favorite versions of the Brandenburgers include those by Café Zimmermann and Jordi Savall. Because these two interpretations are also my favorites of the Brandenburgs. I think these two versions are the best by Baroque specialists, avoiding overkill. But I'm not familiar with the Flofilegium version, which I've heard a lot about. I'm going to buy it.
Regarding the “Ahh....Bach” line: the folks at MASH stole it from a delightful little book published in England in the 60’s, entitled “Bluff your way in music”. Irreverent and educational at the same time. Like an on-line critic I could name. On a more speculative note: What if JSB had gotten the Brandenburg job? Would he have gone more toward the modern style? One more item: Munch’s St. Matthew can be heard on TH-cam in a live performance, abridged some but well worth hearing. Mack Harrell, Lynn’s father, sang the Jesus role.
You sang the tune from the 5th concerto finale when indicating you were portraying the 4th! The finale of the fifth has the jaunty triplet rhythm, whereas the fourth has the cut-time fugato...
Same difference. But of course you're right. The Fourth's first movement goes: tootle tootle tootle tootle tootle tootle da da da, badada da da da, badada tootle tootle tootle, etc.
Dave, you shouldn'ta oughtta brung up the Furtwängler 5th, 'cause then I had to go ahead and listen to it. As my wife would put it, simply blechtaking! I had to rinse my ears out with Suzuki, Leonhardt, et al. These are the works that made me a lifetime Bach lover, and they remain a source of great comfort.
One of the first classical recordings I ever bought featured the performances of the Lucerne Festival Strings with Schneiderhan and Buchbinder on DG. I think Linde played recorder. The cadenza in the 5th concerto was amazing! It was one of the pieces that inspired me to seek out classical music. Thanks so much, Dave!
Lucerne Festival apparently did two versions of these--one originally on Archiv from 1959 in the original grainy gray Archiv LP box with included index cards and recording info, later re-released on yellow DG, and a later one on Eurodisc/RCA, both with Baumgartner as violin/leader. Both are good, I prefer the first one as a bit fresher. 1st one apparently never released on cd--RATS!
I wish Bach had written more concertos, more instrumental music and fewer cantatas. I love many of the cantatas, they contain a few great choirs and arias and so on but by and large, the whole genre is just not for me. I wish he had just stayed in Köthen and wrote more instrumental music, ugh!
Sorry, Bach worked for some royalty who needed cantatas every week for determined occasions and for four churches (Leipzig). Those were TOTALLY different times. Every piece he composed had a purpose and mostly, for a royal or ecclesiastical power.
One fantastic modern-instrument performance that I have just discovered: Cortot. His 5th is really astounding, and the rest appears to have much to recommend it also.
My most favourite recording of the Bradenburg Concertos is the one with I Musici di Roma. It is the most elegant interpretation of the works that I've ever heard
I know they are not authentic, and maybe no one likes them anymore but me, but the old Casals recordings with the Marlboro Festival Orchestra have always seemed delightful.
This is one of those instances where my reference recording for a particular work turns out to be the the first one I ever heard and came to know the work by. As regards the Brandenburgs, I have to go with Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra on Capitol. I did later get Karl Ristenpart's on Nonesuch and Christopher Hogwood's on Decca.
In the LP era, the Ristenpart recording was probably the most common in circulation because it was on the bdget Nonesuch label and was good. Also Britten (interesting that we have a good composer looking deeply into the work). I have Britten as my 'modern instrument' set.
This appeared just minutes after I watched Harnoncourt‘s mini-lecture/performance where he explains his theory on the “flauti d’eco”. What timing, Mr. H.!
Great presentation and discussion. I had the Leonhardt set on LP and enjoyed it greatly, although I admit I am not a huge fan of Bach's music generally.The only recording I have on CD is by Rinaldo Allesandrini leading the Concerto Italiano; it includes a DVD on the recording sessions. Performances are excellent, very lively and well executed. I would be interested in your opinion on this set.
David, what do you think of Siegbert Rampe with La Stravaganza Hamburg? That's been my go-to for toe-tapping brio. PS -- I agree that some of Bach can be "tedious," at least when taken in one sitting. Then again, I don't believe works like the Well-Tempered Clavier were ever meant to be concert performances. Didn't he compose them as training exercises originally? PPS -- Love that gong! Do you just gong whenever the mood strikes? :)
Thank you, David for this review. I'm so happy that you mentioned Charles Munch; it's a marvelous performance. I don't agree re: Goebels. He seems to have the idea that there is only one speed: nuclear. For modern instrument performances, my favorites are Karl Richter, Peter Schreier, and Ludwig Guttler. I especially find Guttler's version of the 2 Concerto especially delightful because instead of using a trumpet he uses a corno da caccia. What I appreciate about this performance is while I"m a trumpet player and always appreciate brilliant trumpet playing the 2nd Concerto is NOT a solo concerto for trumpet. As you mentioned there is a violin, oboe, and flute. The problem most of the time is balance - the trumpet tends to overpower everything else. With the corno da caccia it fits in nicely. On an entirely different matter, are the t-shirts you wear available for purchase?
Thank you for your insights. I also enjoy Guttler--and I did call MAK the Hannibal Lecter of HIP performances. Some people like it. Regarding the T-Shirts, I love swag, but I did these because I ran out of regular shirts to wear on the videos--I hope to be able to sell them someday soon. Thank you for mentioning it!
I enjoy your humor greatly! Always fun and informative to watch your reviews. Also bravo for being completely undogmatic regarding HIPness. I’m completely with you regarding broad views. Eg. - my favorite Well Tempered Clavier is Landowska’s!
Being a trumpet player, I’m always looking for the ideal performance of the second Brandenburg on period instruments. The trumpet part is so near impossible, especially on the old valveless instrument, it’s kind of a sporting event, really. The best Baroque trumpet performance I’ve heard technically has David Blackadder on trumpet, but it’s led by Gardiner and I find the tempos rushed and graceless. A story I’ve heard says that Bach knew he wasn’t going to get the job from the “margrave,” so he intentionally wrote a trumpet part that no one could play. Who knows? The B Minor Mass trumpet parts are almost equally demanding, but that too was a “theoretical” composition, not ever performed in Bach’s time. On modern instruments, Peter Schreier did a set with Håkan Hardenberger on piccolo trumpet that’s very good, if the notes are a little clipped and staccato throughout. Also, I agree with you that there’s a lot of mediocre Bach. It’s good to hear someone acknowledge that. I’ve run into it especially in trying to listen to all the cantatas. There’s just no need to hear all of them. You should do a video on a choice selection of the cantatas, so that we don’t have to work through the entire Gardiner or Koopman sets.
Bach is my favorite composer, and Leonhardt's recordings are among the best I know. I always had the impression that Leonhardt plays as if he were Bach himself. Nevertheless, I am just as enthusiastic when I hear Jean Rondeau with the Goldberg Variations.
Wow, someone finally said just how I also feel about Bach. Yes, what's not to respect and admire, the technique is awesome. And, yes, sometimes he achieves spiritual sublimity. But he can be mind-numbing in his inexorable mechanical precision. I've been known to shock and alarm friends by declaring that I'd rather listen to Handel, or Vivaldi, or someone like Zelenka instead of Bach. Thank you!
My favourite version is the one on Virgin with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the likes of Monica Huggett and Paul Goodwin among the soloists. However, the discography features so many interpretative styles that reaching a definitive verdict is quite a task.
I’m glad to know I’m not alone or a total Phillistine for not much caring for Bach. His enormous contribution to classical music goes without saying, but I vote with my ears, and I just never find myself listening to Bach.
Have you heard the James Levine/Ravinia recording of No. 5? Levine structures the cadenza with a sense for musical architecture that rivals Leonhardt but with a propulsive energy that carries listeners along with it in a way unlike every other recording of this piece I've heard. And it's on harpsichord too!
After listening to excerpts of your 2 top choices, I ordered the Leonhardt, agreeing that this is how Bach should sound like ideally, with room for the music to breathe (polyphony etc)... And then I found my Giardano Armonico and Reinhard Goebel versions suddenly hard to listen to - 'slash and burn' is an accurate description of the approach, initially exciting though they sound. Unlike you, the Brandenburgs are one of my favorite Bach pieces, as much of his other music is pedantic sounding to me, Mass in B Minor and St. Matthew Passion excepted. One recording you don't mention - the ECO under Benjamin Britten - I have found to possess the very qualities you praise in your top choices.
A very nice survey - I did not expect that Charles Munch and Hans Martin Linde would be so highly esteemed in these works, but you are right, why not? I'll explore them soon. In the meantime, two of my favourites that may have slipped below your radar: I like Harnoncourt for the prominent flute in the 4th and the extremely lyrical and articulated playing of Alice Harnoncourt throughout. I must confess that I found the Giardino Armonico a bit mechanical in these works but I enjoyed the more recent recording of Concerto Italiano, which provides a vernacular sense of improvisation and somewhat exotic textures in the third and fifth concertos. And the cadenza in the fifth is brilliant! All the best, NK
This might be against the law but I LOVE the Klemperer/Philharmonia set. Super-heavy, perfect balance with a plenty of low-end, ideal (for me) tempi… Recording must predate the obligatory cadential trill which I find interesting to hear…
I have two favourites - Alfredo Bernardini/Zefiro and Savall. I love the Zefiro because it's so lively and spirited, they actually make you want to dance in places. If anybody thinks Bach is boring (and to be honest, many interpretations are) listen to this. And Savall I like for the same reasons DH does, it's simply so musical that I don't care about any imperfections.
I agree with you. I respect Bach and acknowledge his genius, but most of the time I find his music like a really dense cup of coffee that is hard to enjoy. When it comes to Baroque music I much prefer Vivaldi, whose music is like some nice light tea that you can drink eveyday without getting bored of.
Harnoncourt, Leonhardt ,Kuijken , Goebel, Kopmann, Pinnock, Hogwood andJOrdi Savall are all fabulous. And Karajan with his massive Berlin orchestra, I would like to hate it like most of the specialist, but I cannot, I like it very much, too. And I am very impress by the old wax of FRitz Reiner, Hermann Scherchen , and MUnch. And guess what, I still listen to my first Brandenburg lp (found in a Kmart at 99 cents) : Gunther Kehr. Not so bad ,but very muffled sounding.
Captions for the choices, like you usually have, would help. I can only guess at some of the names' spellings, and even at 1080p, the small print on those jewel boxes isn't legible.=) Thanks for all you do!! Leonhart...? Lionhardt? Leeyunheart...?
I watched this video last night and then had a dream about an all-saxophone performance of the Brandenburgs. Hope you're happy! I love the I Musici recordings, especially 4 and 5 in that set. One set that I have some nostalgia for since it's the one I grew up with is actually Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic - not a name I'd normally associate with Bach, but I listened to them again recently and actually surprisingly still enjoyed them. With the exception of No. 5, where the Berlin Philharmonic completely drowns out the poor harpsichord.
Watched towards the end! HM Linde! Bullseye! Next favourite is Busch, and then Klemperer! I thought we were in entire disagreement on this BUT then! Mind you I also adore Mogens Woldike with the Royal Chapel Orchestra in Copenhagen on HMV originally, from 1950 to 1954 ... Keep well and best wishes from George
Have you heard the old Harry Newstone/Hamburg LP set from the late 1950s on the Saga label? It's been transferred to a double CD on the Heritage label. Good old fashioned Bach playing!
I don't know it, but thanks for mentioning it. I can't say I'd go out of my way to hear it, but if it pops up I'll certainly give it a listen with your recommendation in mind.
"Any of them will do"…which is convenient, since I have almost every period-instrument recording you include here. However, when it came to modern instrument performances, I'm somewhat surprised you didn’t mention the Britten/ECO set, which is among the most lovely and enjoyable renditions of the works, even for a HIP devotee like myself. And how often can you find an album of works by one of the greatest composers in history conducted by another of one of the greatest composers in history?
Hah! I’ve going to ask why so few of your talks are about Bach, now I know. Not a complaint! I do understand. While I find Bach’s music to be mathematical, I do appreciate and connect with it. When I started playing some of the Cello Suites on Alto Sax in college it made sense to me in a way the Jazz I was attempting to play did not.
Well, there are 92 Bach videos so far, which I don't think is chump change. You are all making too much out of the fact that I don't worship Bach as others do.
Wow - I can already imagine the indignation from some at the revelation you don't particularly like Bach or The Brandenburg's! I think it's refreshing - everyone should speak as they find. For me I think his work, at it's best, has a rare depth and profundity (although I find complete performances of the passions a challenge...all that recitative!) and you're right, crucially Bach really needs a great performance rather than one that's merely routine. I'll stick my neck out and say I quite like Harnoncourt's digital Brandenburg's for Teldec - the balance of spirited, thoughtful interpretation together with a refusal not just merely to get around the notes as quickly as possible does it for me. That said there are days when I just prefer Telemann to old J.S.
Quite a long video from someone who doesn’t really like Bach ;-) I’m very partial to the Cafe Zimmerman performances as they’re Interspersed with all those other concertos (and the Orchestral Suites, which you didn’t mention) so it makes a nice change from all the sets that do all six in order as though they were meant to be performed one after the other as in the manuscript. I like some of the old performances too, Busch etc. I’m not a diehard Glenn Gould fan but there’s a 1957 live Canadian performance of no 5 (with indifferent playing generally) with the most amazing cadenza - it’s in a “Glenn Gould in Concert” box from something called WHRA. I wouldn’t want to part with it as it has a number of other really interesting things from him in it before he became studio-bound.
Maybe it's just my own ears, but the Savall recording, one of my favorites, strikes me as having a slightly more romantic cast to it than standard renditions, which brings a bit of a kind of sensuality to these pieces that I haven't heard elsewhere- it sounds a bit tonally 'wetter' than other playings I've heard of them.
Great to hear a professional reviewer say he doesn't love Bach! I'm the same way, more of an unbuttoned romantic, to paraphrase William H. Gass. I feel this way about baroque music in general, though I have come around on Bach somewhat; even then, however, I rarely listen with the same automatic joy I would to Mahler, Wagner, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, et al. or even modern and contemporary composers. I think a lot of it is the time period, as I don't love the literature from the late 17th-18th centuries either: all those bourgeois (and often epistolary) novels of manners and endless rhyming couplets in the English-language poetry. Give me Wordsworth or Shelley or Holderlin any day over that stuff!
I think when you replied to my comment just now the whole thing got lost in the internet aether - I’ll keep mum re your thoughts on the orchestral suites ;) However just a correction as I was a bit rude about the others on this Gould recording of no 5. Fished it out now and it’s Paul Paray and players from the Detroit Symphony in 1960. In case anyone is interested in that, it’s not as “indifferent” as I remembered!
Harry Newstone with the Hamburg Chamber Orchestra, recorded by SAGA in 1959, reissued on Heritage. All-star lineup of soloists, judicious tempi, historically informed articulation before it became "the thing" - simply joyous performances, and good recordings considering the source. I am a bit prejudiced, since I performed the restorations from LPs for Heritage (with terrific transcriptions by John Whitmore in the UK).
One from the old non-period-instrument school that long got respect was that of Benjamin Britten. I heard it and thought "OK"...nothing wrong, and it sounds nice and clear. It might be easy to see such as a reflection of one composer interpreting another... then again, Bernstein seems not to have tried, or at least nobody recorded it.
I find the 1977 recording from Leonhardt with Kuijkens on Seon nice, but the tempo is very slow. I much prefer the 1995 recording by Kuijkens and others on deutsche Harmonia Mundi. Faster tempo and horn instead of trumpet result in a freshness with more contrast.
Thank you, sir, for giving me (and many others, I am sure) permission NOT to like Bach. I have always felt exactly the same way about JSB, but was given strange looks from classical music lovers when I voiced my opinion. Now I can point to this video and say, "SEE!"
I remember an article by Douglas "Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Adams, where he wrote of listening to MIDI files of the Brandenburgs on his laptop. He remarked that, despite the synthetic instruments and tinny audio, Bach's music still "worked".
I’m lucky in that I adore these pieces. I find them sexy (that’s what the 6th is all about!) and thrilling but more to the point, they were the first classical music I knew. I warmly recommend Benjamin Britten’s 1970-ish recordings.
"all that vile French music" hahaha :) Well, aren't you forgetting Gustav Leonhardt's recording? That is my favourite recording of the Brandenburgs concertos.
Reminds me of the countless arguments as to whether there are objective standards in art. My introduction to these works was the Maurice Andre/I Musici and I wore out the vinyl, literally.
I'm still stuck on Pinnock, Leonhardt, and Collegium Aureum. I also have several on modern instruments. Even tried Hogwood, which on paper seems like an interesting experiment, but in practice turned out to be DREADFULLY dull (and tedious and BORing, and dreadfully dreadfully dull!!). Very much looking forward to your survey.
There are so many recordings..I think I have at least a dozen. I just purchased the Leonhardt. It is fun to isten to Von Karajan's version - not my favorite. B. Britten is pretty good. I see there is a version by Horenstein on Vox??? Who knew.
This was rather interesting... and I just cannot believe you do not like these concertos, given the overview you gave. Apparently you have a soft spot for the Czech Phil in the era of Karel Ančerl, yet you have not come across a group of the same (selected) players doing also baroque music off-duty - I mean the 'Ars Rediviva'. Its leader, Milan Munclinger, was one of the few pioneers - he was one of those who prepared the ways for the later outbreak of baroque ensembles. (Czech Nicolas Harnoncourt, sort of.) If anything relevant in the field of baroque music interpretation came out from behind the Iron Curtain AT THAT TIME (late 1950s till 1970s), the legacy of Ars Rediviva must be a part of it. The Brandenburg concertos were published in 1965 for the first time, and were later available in a charming CD box with the orchestral suites. Today they are only available as downloads. The current critics usually dismiss these recordings as 'etwas altbacken und lahm' but you may check them yourself. Take e.g. the concerto No 2 with the trumpet or the concerto No 6 - they are all on TH-cam...
I have come across those recordings, and I do find them "etwas altbacke und lahm." But that's OK. Let's not exaggerate the importance of everything and everyone just because it exists.
How refreshing and what a nice surprise! This is exactly how I feel about J.S. Bach too. And, yep 1052 is also my favourite concerto and the only one (aside from the Brandenburgs) I truly enjoy and often return to (Cafe Zimmermann's version is the one I like best). I also find a lot of his music tedious, but I doubt (euphemism) Bach thought the whole current catalogue of surviving works was worth preserving for all eternity; thus, he shouldn't bear most of the blame. In conclusion, I guess ears really don't lie then if you listen to the music and not the myth, the Uber-Zeus of Musical Academies.
I have to agree with your assessment of Bach's Music. There is an old saying " a little Bach goes a long way". He can sound perfunctory in many instances. However IMHO to my ear, every one of the Brandenburgs is a gem from the first note to the last. He was definitely inspired when he penned those concertos.
Hi David, have you heard the version with The Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra and Yehudi Menuhin on Angel LP? That’s my favorite but I no longer have a turntable and I read in a review that the digital remaster is not very good. I checked out the Vivarte recording on TH-cam and although it’s beautifully performed, it’s a bit staid for my tastes. On the other hand, I hate these “slash and burn” interpretations. The Cafe Zimmerman comes closest to my tastes. I listened on TH-cam and it’s just like you said - there’s a real joy in their playing. That’s the one I’ll order. Thanks for turning me on to it.
I haven't heard the Menuhin in decades, but it just goes to show how impossible it is to encompass the entire discography of "basic repertoire" works like these.
My imprint recording of the Brandenburgs was Karl Ristenpart and the Orchestra de la Saar on Nonesuch sourced I believe from Erato. Regarding Bach, with due respect to all views and opinions, for me he is the greatest composer. It’s the indescribable spirituality that pervades practically everything he composed that astounds me - even Art of Fugue (a good subject for a session Dave) is deeply transcendent to my ears.
Yeah, Bach is pretty dull to listen to for the most part, and unlike a couple of other composers who are very highly rated in Mozart and Mahler, I don't think he's really overrated. The set I found of the Brandenburgs that I liked is those of Yehudi Menuhin. I thought he breathed much needed life into them, much like Maria Joao Pires did with Mozart's piano sonatas after I bought Christoph Eschenbach's flat sounding set, ugh!
As a young oboist, I went nuts hearing the 1st Brandemburgs for the first time. My parents gave me the Concentus Musicus record for my birthday, which I played until the needle reached the other side. I listened to every possible version at music libraries in college, love the Leonhart, the Casals with rehearsals,etc. I still marvel at how "Old Bach" could come up with such a melacholy inducing combo of harmonies in his second movement and trio section . These pieces have accompanied me for a very long time and I am happy to continue to discover new versions. And I will get to play it with my colleagues next week at Weill Hall!
Have a great time!
My favorite recording is Karl Richter with the Munich Bach Orchestra. Righter himself plays the harpsichord in No. 5 and I think the cadenza is great. And the trumpet player in No. 2 is outstanding , especially the 3rd movement holy moley!
Interesting! I've always counted Bach among my favorite composers. At his best, and I'm thinking here of the B Minor Mass, the WTC and the Brandenburgs among many others, he combines intellectual rigor with musical expression as only the best composers can do. And even when Bach tilts more towards the intellectual (The Art of the Fugue, let's say) I find his music still reaches me, although more so when I have the score in hand and can follow the interlocking themes. And he's so transposable, whether it be recorder ensembles, Stokowski's lush orchestrations or jazz scat singing, it all sound good. Anyway, my opinion - but isn't it good to have different tastes and so much good music to choose from? Cheers!
Tremendously liberating to be advised by David Hurwitz that is ok not love Bach's every note. I wish I had not had to wait until I was seventy to hear it.
i feel the same but about Mozart and Beethoven not Bach
Thank you for the work, Mr. Hurwitz.
It's always interesting to see such stark differences in people's opinions, especially on Bach. For me personally, Bach is the greatest thing to happen to music, but I fully respect what you have to say, and I'm always impressed by your knowledge in general.
Accurate, non-biased reviews are especially useful from people who don't particularly interested in the music-- I think this increases objectivity and accuracy that distance provides. Most critics don't really accomplish this. Nicely done Dave!
Thanks for that!
@@DavesClassicalGuide No short answers, Dave.
Leonhardt is really really cool! Thank you so much for sharing your preferences.
When I first started to explore classical music almost 50 years ago, one of the first albums I bought was the Brandenburgs by the Collegium Aureum on RCA Victrola, with Leonhardt AND Linde, so I figure that's a combination of your two favorites! It's my own favorite to this day, and I still have that LP.
I am wicked psyched I found your videos! They are awesome! I don’t have a professionally trained ear but I always love to play the Brandenberg CD by Concerto Italiano. They make me really happy. Rock on dude!
My favorite version is the 2007 recording by Pinnock / European Brandenburg Ensemble. I love also the Dunedin and the Zimerman Café.
You rightly observe that there are many different versions of Bach’s music, and that it never seems to matter what they do to it, it’s always identifiably Bach. I think, if I understood you right, that you suggested that it’s just so well made it can survive anything. Exactly; and that’s why I (and very many others) think that Bach is peerless. Just, the best. Ceaseless invention, always fresh and surprising. A constant delight. Don’t you just love the catch-me-quick game the strings play in the last movement of no 3 of the Brandenburgs?
My uncle Albert, of blessed memory, loved the Reiner fifth concerto for Sylvia Marlow’s incredible cadenza. I still have it on LP and love it.
Although I enjoy all of Dave's videos, this one in particular is a prime example of excellent music criticism. Dave describes the music, describes his criteria for evaluating performances, and then makes his recommendations based on his criteria. Many critics can do this, but what sets Dave apart is that he makes music criticism entertaining as well as informative. I'm glad I discovered his videos. Regarding the Brandenburgs, I have a soft spot for the first set I bought. It was on Nonesuch I believe, and conducted by Karl Ristenpart.
The Sixth Concerto is my favorite -- but I myself am dark and dingy. :)
Wonderful video! I was actually surprised to see my favorite version among your recommendations - The Savall recording which also has a stellar cast of soloists which you failed to mention :) I hope you will do another video in the same vein about the Orchestral Suites. Thank you!
The Brandenburg concertos played by Leonhardt and Kuijkens (Seon 1977) are nice but the tempo is very slow. Much nicer imho is La Petite Bande (Kuijkens and others, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 1995). The tempo is a bit faster and the sound of horn (instead of trumpet) results in a freshness and more contrast. Overall a much more satisfying performance.
My long time favorite recording of the Brandenburg Concertos is with Karl Ristenpart and the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar recorded in the early '60s (I have seen different dates). The sound seems excellent, though not as dynamic as modern recordings. There are some well-known performers: Helmut Schneidewind, trumpet; Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Hans Martin Linde, recorder; and Robert Veyron Lacroix, harpsichord. There's even a rumor that Maurice Andre took some part. It's all nice and relaxed, sounds like fun, and some of the playing is virtuosic. I have liked listening to it for several decades, first on LP, and then in a box set called Bach Oeuvres pour orchestre.
I also like Pinnock's early set, circa 1982.
I have heard Karajan's 1964 recordings with the BPO, and parts are lovely, but the slow movements are way too slow.
Yes, the Ristenpart performances! I’ve long loved them, too, since first acquiring them on LP in the 1960s. Some of the solo playing isn’t exactly up to snuff - the horns in No. 1 are a bit wanting - but I still love the collection because of the sheer joy and warmth they convey. Second for me would be the Britten set. Per Mr. Hurwitz, I’m going to check out the I Musici recording which, in spite of adoring their other recordings (oh, those beautiful Corelli concerti grossi!), I’ve never heard.
while I can't agree with the assessment of JS, I appreciate your refreshing honesty.
The Munch set was my first exposure to the Brandenburgs and his recording of #1 (which I heard first) was like a megadose of the best drug imaginable.
Bach is the man for me! I like the good old non-HIPP recording of the ASMF/Marriner! I fond the tempi and interpretation just right. A lot of the more recent recordings I find tend to be far too fast! This one is just about right!
I just can't help loving the intellectual freedom of a musical critic stating that he does not love Bach (I do). But I couldn't be more in disagreement about the "there's not much to interpret" part: since JSB's music is almost indestructible, as you make perfectly clear, it allows great interpretative freedom. It has an infinite trove of surprises, undercurrents, rythms, voices that you can bring more or less under the spotlight. Even small interpretative choices count, while on more expansive music you feel the urge to make huge demonstrative gestures to make your mark! The real miracle of JSB's music is exactly that: being impossibly indestructible but non impassible. A sort of passionate steel, so to say. If you wanna play it as a mechanical toy you absolutely can, it's your choice - but it's not a mandatory one. One last thing, as Steve Jobs used to say: being an encyclopedic genius is a "defect" that could very well be recognized in your beloved Haydn! "Here's everything you can do with a classical symphony/string quartet/piano trio..." ;-)
Remember, I'm talking about these specific works, and even there I make an exception for the Fifth Concerto (because of the cadenza, primarily). Baroque orchestral music is, by nature, rather formulaic.
Wonderful review and presentation! Bach's music can be played anywhere with any instrument even on his son PDQ's favorite, the bagpipes, goes to show how great his music is. I like Savall's set the most followed by Pinnock, Leppard and Richter. Love the 6th concerto as much as the rest, I've always felt it serves as a beautiful coda after the 5th, but then I like listening to the gamba.....;-)
Ah! The Sixth is my favorite, too, because the dialogue between instruments is amazing! It's a prelude to Mozart's Sinfonia concertante (364) and the Brahms Double Concerto. All David's versions just show how great the music is; difficult to ruin whether you like Koussevitzky or the latest period group. I always enjoy Busch, with Rudolf Serkin on piano! . Didn't know Munch had a set! He and Pierre Monteux used to start out the Tanglewood season with two weekends of the "Bach-Mozart Concerts".
Thank you so very much for including Charles and BSO.
It may be wrong by today's standards, but it's also so right👍
"You can play it underwater, you can play it in space", You can play them in a box.
You can play them with a fox.
You can play them in a house.
You can play them with a mouse.
You can play them here and there.
Say!
You can play them ANYWHERE!
I do so like Bach's concertos!
Thank you! Thank you, Dave-Hur-certo!"
LOL!
Beat me to it…
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Paillard chamber orchestra and Klemperer's 1960 are my favorites by a mile. I'm sure others may eventually compete but man these are so rich and lively despite their slower tempo.
9:01 That's the third movement from the fifth concerto.
I constantly return to the Colligium Aureum version from the 60's. Modern strings but period winds. Leonhardt plays No 5 too, and I've never heard a better played and balanced version of No 2 with Edward H. Tarr and Hans Martin Linde. Is the old Marriner/Dart version still around? The one with the French Horn in No 2 and Sopranino recorders in No 4?
I had that set (still do) plus Marriner--it never ends, does it?
I'm delighted to see that your favorite versions of the Brandenburgers include those by Café Zimmermann and Jordi Savall. Because these two interpretations are also my favorites of the Brandenburgs. I think these two versions are the best by Baroque specialists, avoiding overkill. But I'm not familiar with the Flofilegium version, which I've heard a lot about. I'm going to buy it.
You like "bass lines", "depth of texture", "slightly darker sonority" in interpretations of these concertos. -You're so right with that! I agree!
Regarding the “Ahh....Bach” line: the folks at MASH stole it from a delightful little book published in England in the 60’s, entitled “Bluff your way in music”. Irreverent and educational at the same time. Like an on-line critic I could name.
On a more speculative note: What if JSB had gotten the Brandenburg job? Would he have gone more toward the modern style?
One more item: Munch’s St. Matthew can be heard on TH-cam in a live performance, abridged some but well worth hearing. Mack Harrell, Lynn’s father, sang the Jesus role.
You sang the tune from the 5th concerto finale when indicating you were portraying the 4th! The finale of the fifth has the jaunty triplet rhythm, whereas the fourth has the cut-time fugato...
Same difference. But of course you're right. The Fourth's first movement goes: tootle tootle tootle tootle tootle tootle da da da, badada da da da, badada tootle tootle tootle, etc.
@@DavesClassicalGuide You know the lyrics, too? I'm impressed!
Dave, you shouldn'ta oughtta brung up the Furtwängler 5th, 'cause then I had to go ahead and listen to it. As my wife would put it, simply blechtaking! I had to rinse my ears out with Suzuki, Leonhardt, et al. These are the works that made me a lifetime Bach lover, and they remain a source of great comfort.
How about the best orchestral suites next???
One of the first classical recordings I ever bought featured the performances of the Lucerne Festival Strings with Schneiderhan and Buchbinder on DG. I think Linde played recorder. The cadenza in the 5th concerto was amazing! It was one of the pieces that inspired me to seek out classical music. Thanks so much, Dave!
Sure thing!
Lucerne Festival apparently did two versions of these--one originally on Archiv from 1959 in the original grainy gray Archiv LP box with included index cards and recording info, later re-released on yellow DG, and a later one on Eurodisc/RCA, both with Baumgartner as violin/leader. Both are good, I prefer the first one as a bit fresher. 1st one apparently never released on cd--RATS!
I wish Bach had written more concertos, more instrumental music and fewer cantatas. I love many of the cantatas, they contain a few great choirs and arias and so on but by and large, the whole genre is just not for me. I wish he had just stayed in Köthen and wrote more instrumental music, ugh!
Me too.
Sorry, Bach worked for some royalty who needed cantatas every week for determined occasions and for four churches (Leipzig). Those were TOTALLY different times. Every piece he composed had a purpose and mostly, for a royal or ecclesiastical power.
yeah i love the choral movements from the cantatas but i strongly dislike arias and all other operatic influenced singing.
One fantastic modern-instrument performance that I have just discovered: Cortot. His 5th is really astounding, and the rest appears to have much to recommend it also.
I have two that I love just as well as the other, and that is Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and No. 4
I'd like to see your view on recordings of Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
Already done.
My most favourite recording of the Bradenburg Concertos is the one with I Musici di Roma. It is the most elegant interpretation of the works that I've ever heard
I know they are not authentic, and maybe no one likes them anymore but me, but the old Casals recordings with the Marlboro Festival Orchestra have always seemed delightful.
This is one of those instances where my reference recording for a particular work turns out to be the the first one I ever heard and came to know the work by. As regards the Brandenburgs, I have to go with Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra on Capitol. I did later get Karl Ristenpart's on Nonesuch and Christopher Hogwood's on Decca.
In the LP era, the Ristenpart recording was probably the most common in circulation because it was on the bdget Nonesuch label and was good. Also Britten (interesting that we have a good composer looking deeply into the work). I have Britten as my 'modern instrument' set.
This appeared just minutes after I watched Harnoncourt‘s mini-lecture/performance where he explains his theory on the “flauti d’eco”. What timing, Mr. H.!
Wow!
Where can I see it and what is the theory?
Great presentation and discussion. I had the Leonhardt set on LP and enjoyed it greatly, although I admit I am not a huge fan of Bach's music generally.The only recording I have on CD is by Rinaldo Allesandrini leading the Concerto Italiano; it includes a DVD on the recording sessions. Performances are excellent, very lively and well executed. I would be interested in your opinion on this set.
It's terrific, but as I said, there are so, so, so many...
@@DavesClassicalGuide Thanks; I agree.
Me top, it is in my view the best, partly because of the rich sound, and the real base foundation, the base line.
David, what do you think of Siegbert Rampe with La Stravaganza Hamburg? That's been my go-to for toe-tapping brio.
PS -- I agree that some of Bach can be "tedious," at least when taken in one sitting. Then again, I don't believe works like the Well-Tempered Clavier were ever meant to be concert performances. Didn't he compose them as training exercises originally?
PPS -- Love that gong! Do you just gong whenever the mood strikes? :)
Yes, I "gong" when the mood strikes. I'm sorry but I don't know the Rampe. After like fifty versions I'm all Brandenburged out....
Thank you, David for this review. I'm so happy that you mentioned Charles Munch; it's a marvelous performance. I don't agree re: Goebels. He seems to have the idea that there is only one speed: nuclear. For modern instrument performances, my favorites are Karl Richter, Peter Schreier, and Ludwig Guttler. I especially find Guttler's version of the 2 Concerto especially delightful because instead of using a trumpet he uses a corno da caccia. What I appreciate about this performance is while I"m a trumpet player and always appreciate brilliant trumpet playing the 2nd Concerto is NOT a solo concerto for trumpet. As you mentioned there is a violin, oboe, and flute. The problem most of the time is balance - the trumpet tends to overpower everything else. With the corno da caccia it fits in nicely. On an entirely different matter, are the t-shirts you wear available for purchase?
Thank you for your insights. I also enjoy Guttler--and I did call MAK the Hannibal Lecter of HIP performances. Some people like it. Regarding the T-Shirts, I love swag, but I did these because I ran out of regular shirts to wear on the videos--I hope to be able to sell them someday soon. Thank you for mentioning it!
Thanks!
I enjoy your humor greatly! Always fun and informative to watch your reviews. Also bravo for being completely undogmatic regarding HIPness. I’m completely with you regarding broad views. Eg. - my favorite Well Tempered Clavier is Landowska’s!
Thanks so much!
Remember Landowska's quote: "You play Bach your way, I'll play Bach his way."
Being a trumpet player, I’m always looking for the ideal performance of the second Brandenburg on period instruments. The trumpet part is so near impossible, especially on the old valveless instrument, it’s kind of a sporting event, really. The best Baroque trumpet performance I’ve heard technically has David Blackadder on trumpet, but it’s led by Gardiner and I find the tempos rushed and graceless. A story I’ve heard says that Bach knew he wasn’t going to get the job from the “margrave,” so he intentionally wrote a trumpet part that no one could play. Who knows? The B Minor Mass trumpet parts are almost equally demanding, but that too was a “theoretical” composition, not ever performed in Bach’s time. On modern instruments, Peter Schreier did a set with Håkan Hardenberger on piccolo trumpet that’s very good, if the notes are a little clipped and staccato throughout. Also, I agree with you that there’s a lot of mediocre Bach. It’s good to hear someone acknowledge that. I’ve run into it especially in trying to listen to all the cantatas. There’s just no need to hear all of them. You should do a video on a choice selection of the cantatas, so that we don’t have to work through the entire Gardiner or Koopman sets.
The standard for me is the Collegium aureum version, at height of perfection
You could certainly do worse! In general, I enjoy their recordings very much.
And of course we can't forget the Max Reger 4 hand transcriptions of this music.
I can.
Bach is my favorite composer, and Leonhardt's recordings are among the best I know. I always had the impression that Leonhardt plays as if he were Bach himself. Nevertheless, I am just as enthusiastic when I hear Jean Rondeau with the Goldberg Variations.
Wow, someone finally said just how I also feel about Bach. Yes, what's not to respect and admire, the technique is awesome. And, yes, sometimes he achieves spiritual sublimity. But he can be mind-numbing in his inexorable mechanical precision. I've been known to shock and alarm friends by declaring that I'd rather listen to Handel, or Vivaldi, or someone like Zelenka instead of Bach. Thank you!
My pleasure.
My favourite version is the one on Virgin with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the likes of Monica Huggett and Paul Goodwin among the soloists. However, the discography features so many interpretative styles that reaching a definitive verdict is quite a task.
Yeah . . . gotta admit that Leonhardt is something special. Listening to it now, appreciate the recommendation.
I’m glad to know I’m not alone or a total Phillistine for not much caring for Bach. His enormous contribution to classical music goes without saying, but I vote with my ears, and I just never find myself listening to Bach.
Nothing to be ashamed of (but then, I have no shame).
Have you heard the James Levine/Ravinia recording of No. 5? Levine structures the cadenza with a sense for musical architecture that rivals Leonhardt but with a propulsive energy that carries listeners along with it in a way unlike every other recording of this piece I've heard. And it's on harpsichord too!
Yes. I remember it well.
After listening to excerpts of your 2 top choices, I ordered the Leonhardt, agreeing that this is how Bach should sound like ideally, with room for the music to breathe (polyphony etc)... And then I found my Giardano Armonico and Reinhard Goebel versions suddenly hard to listen to - 'slash and burn' is an accurate description of the approach, initially exciting though they sound. Unlike you, the Brandenburgs are one of my favorite Bach pieces, as much of his other music is pedantic sounding to me, Mass in B Minor and St. Matthew Passion excepted. One recording you don't mention - the ECO under Benjamin Britten - I have found to possess the very qualities you praise in your top choices.
A very nice survey - I did not expect that Charles Munch and Hans Martin Linde would be so highly esteemed in these works, but you are right, why not? I'll explore them soon. In the meantime, two of my favourites that may have slipped below your radar: I like Harnoncourt for the prominent flute in the 4th and the extremely lyrical and articulated playing of Alice Harnoncourt throughout. I must confess that I found the Giardino Armonico a bit mechanical in these works but I enjoyed the more recent recording of Concerto Italiano, which provides a vernacular sense of improvisation and somewhat exotic textures in the third and fifth concertos. And the cadenza in the fifth is brilliant! All the best, NK
I like Harnoncourt too, and Concerto Italiano. I have them both, but as I said, too too many.
This might be against the law but I LOVE the Klemperer/Philharmonia set. Super-heavy, perfect balance with a plenty of low-end, ideal (for me) tempi… Recording must predate the obligatory cadential trill which I find interesting to hear…
I have two favourites - Alfredo Bernardini/Zefiro and Savall. I love the Zefiro because it's so lively and spirited, they actually make you want to dance in places. If anybody thinks Bach is boring (and to be honest, many interpretations are) listen to this.
And Savall I like for the same reasons DH does, it's simply so musical that I don't care about any imperfections.
I agree with you. I respect Bach and acknowledge his genius, but most of the time I find his music like a really dense cup of coffee that is hard to enjoy. When it comes to Baroque music I much prefer Vivaldi, whose music is like some nice light tea that you can drink eveyday without getting bored of.
Harnoncourt, Leonhardt ,Kuijken , Goebel, Kopmann, Pinnock, Hogwood andJOrdi Savall are all fabulous. And Karajan with his massive Berlin orchestra, I would like to hate it like most of the specialist, but I cannot, I like it very much, too. And I am very impress by the old wax of FRitz Reiner, Hermann Scherchen , and MUnch. And guess what, I still listen to my first Brandenburg lp (found in a Kmart at 99 cents) : Gunther Kehr. Not so bad ,but very muffled sounding.
I still find the fine version by Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields to hold its own with any other set.
Captions for the choices, like you usually have, would help. I can only guess at some of the names' spellings, and even at 1080p, the small print on those jewel boxes isn't legible.=) Thanks for all you do!! Leonhart...? Lionhardt? Leeyunheart...?
Yes, most later vids have them.
I watched this video last night and then had a dream about an all-saxophone performance of the Brandenburgs. Hope you're happy!
I love the I Musici recordings, especially 4 and 5 in that set. One set that I have some nostalgia for since it's the one I grew up with is actually Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic - not a name I'd normally associate with Bach, but I listened to them again recently and actually surprisingly still enjoyed them. With the exception of No. 5, where the Berlin Philharmonic completely drowns out the poor harpsichord.
Watched towards the end! HM Linde!
Bullseye!
Next favourite is Busch, and then Klemperer!
I thought we were in entire disagreement on this BUT then!
Mind you I also adore Mogens Woldike with the Royal Chapel Orchestra in Copenhagen on HMV originally, from 1950 to 1954 ...
Keep well and best wishes from George
I have about 10 sets of these Brandenburgs, and my last purchase was Karl Richter. There was nobody more steeped in Bach than Richter.
Richter drags, suggesting a baroque approach once loved as 'stately'. Such is out of fashion and may never return.
Are there any pianists other than Perahia who recorded the Brandenburg Concertos on a piano?
Yes, Gould and Richter to name only two.
How about Zefiro?
Yes, how about it.
I like the Zefiro recording - there's a real zest to the performances, and the basslines are really snappy.
Because of this, I felt obliged to look up Furtwängler on the 5th. Getting to the end was weirdly fatiguing. I'm glad in don't have to do that again.
Have you heard the old Harry Newstone/Hamburg LP set from the late 1950s on the Saga label? It's been transferred to a double CD on the Heritage label. Good old fashioned Bach playing!
I don't know it, but thanks for mentioning it. I can't say I'd go out of my way to hear it, but if it pops up I'll certainly give it a listen with your recommendation in mind.
Somebody put the Linde set online at TH-cam.
My favorite is by Karl Munchinger and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra on London though i have a weakness for Wenfy Carlos' # 4 and i Musici #3
"Any of them will do"…which is convenient, since I have almost every period-instrument recording you include here. However, when it came to modern instrument performances, I'm somewhat surprised you didn’t mention the Britten/ECO set, which is among the most lovely and enjoyable renditions of the works, even for a HIP devotee like myself. And how often can you find an album of works by one of the greatest composers in history conducted by another of one of the greatest composers in history?
Actually, pretty often, but I take your point!
Hah! I’ve going to ask why so few of your talks are about Bach, now I know. Not a complaint! I do understand. While I find Bach’s music to be mathematical, I do appreciate and connect with it. When I started playing some of the Cello Suites on Alto Sax in college it made sense to me in a way the Jazz I was attempting to play did not.
Well, there are 92 Bach videos so far, which I don't think is chump change. You are all making too much out of the fact that I don't worship Bach as others do.
@@DavesClassicalGuide 92!? Well then, thanks for giving this chump some change. 🤣. I'll check them out.
Wow - I can already imagine the indignation from some at the revelation you don't particularly like Bach or The Brandenburg's! I think it's refreshing - everyone should speak as they find. For me I think his work, at it's best, has a rare depth and profundity (although I find complete performances of the passions a challenge...all that recitative!) and you're right, crucially Bach really needs a great performance rather than one that's merely routine. I'll stick my neck out and say I quite like Harnoncourt's digital Brandenburg's for Teldec - the balance of spirited, thoughtful interpretation together with a refusal not just merely to get around the notes as quickly as possible does it for me. That said there are days when I just prefer Telemann to old J.S.
Quite a long video from someone who doesn’t really like Bach ;-)
I’m very partial to the Cafe Zimmerman performances as they’re Interspersed with all those other concertos (and the Orchestral Suites, which you didn’t mention) so it makes a nice change from all the sets that do all six in order as though they were meant to be performed one after the other as in the manuscript.
I like some of the old performances too, Busch etc. I’m not a diehard Glenn Gould fan but there’s a 1957 live Canadian performance of no 5 (with indifferent playing generally) with the most amazing cadenza - it’s in a “Glenn Gould in Concert” box from something called WHRA. I wouldn’t want to part with it as it has a number of other really interesting things from him in it before he became studio-bound.
I like the orchestral suites even less, although I can take the "Air" as long as the g-string comes off.
Maybe it's just my own ears, but the Savall recording, one of my favorites, strikes me as having a slightly more romantic cast to it than standard renditions, which brings a bit of a kind of sensuality to these pieces that I haven't heard elsewhere- it sounds a bit tonally 'wetter' than other playings I've heard of them.
Great to hear a professional reviewer say he doesn't love Bach! I'm the same way, more of an unbuttoned romantic, to paraphrase William H. Gass. I feel this way about baroque music in general, though I have come around on Bach somewhat; even then, however, I rarely listen with the same automatic joy I would to Mahler, Wagner, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, et al. or even modern and contemporary composers. I think a lot of it is the time period, as I don't love the literature from the late 17th-18th centuries either: all those bourgeois (and often epistolary) novels of manners and endless rhyming couplets in the English-language poetry. Give me Wordsworth or Shelley or Holderlin any day over that stuff!
I think when you replied to my comment just now the whole thing got lost in the internet aether - I’ll keep mum re your thoughts on the orchestral suites ;) However just a correction as I was a bit rude about the others on this Gould recording of no 5. Fished it out now and it’s Paul Paray and players from the Detroit Symphony in 1960. In case anyone is interested in that, it’s not as “indifferent” as I remembered!
That's OK. Maybe the spirit of the great JSB was taking his revenge.
Harry Newstone with the Hamburg Chamber Orchestra, recorded by SAGA in 1959, reissued on Heritage. All-star lineup of soloists, judicious tempi, historically informed articulation before it became "the thing" - simply joyous performances, and good recordings considering the source. I am a bit prejudiced, since I performed the restorations from LPs for Heritage (with terrific transcriptions by John Whitmore in the UK).
Thank you for the disclaimer!
Bought the Leonhardt back in college on LP...the set that came with a reproduction of Bach's original score.
I know. Wasn't it great?
David Hurwitz Absolutely!! I still have it.
One from the old non-period-instrument school that long got respect was that of Benjamin Britten. I heard it and thought "OK"...nothing wrong, and it sounds nice and clear. It might be easy to see such as a reflection of one composer interpreting another... then again, Bernstein seems not to have tried, or at least nobody recorded it.
thank you for this video! Absolutely agree on the Linde and the Leonhardt versions, love Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment version also.
Agree--Linde is the one I've been listening to.
I find the 1977 recording from Leonhardt with Kuijkens on Seon nice, but the tempo is very slow. I much prefer the 1995 recording by Kuijkens and others on deutsche Harmonia Mundi. Faster tempo and horn instead of trumpet result in a freshness with more contrast.
Thank you, sir, for giving me (and many others, I am sure) permission NOT to like Bach. I have always felt exactly the same way about JSB, but was given strange looks from classical music lovers when I voiced my opinion. Now I can point to this video and say, "SEE!"
You are very welcome
I remember an article by Douglas "Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Adams, where he wrote of listening to MIDI files of the Brandenburgs on his laptop. He remarked that, despite the synthetic instruments and tinny audio, Bach's music still "worked".
I’m lucky in that I adore these pieces. I find them sexy (that’s what the 6th is all about!) and thrilling but more to the point, they were the first classical music I knew. I warmly recommend Benjamin Britten’s 1970-ish recordings.
So you love Bach. Got it! :)
"all that vile French music" hahaha :) Well, aren't you forgetting Gustav Leonhardt's recording? That is my favourite recording of the Brandenburgs concertos.
Reminds me of the countless arguments as to whether there are objective standards in art. My introduction to these works was the Maurice Andre/I Musici and I wore out the vinyl, literally.
Of course there are! I just happen to know what they are. Exclusively.
I'm still stuck on Pinnock, Leonhardt, and Collegium Aureum. I also have several on modern instruments. Even tried Hogwood, which on paper seems like an interesting experiment, but in practice turned out to be DREADFULLY dull (and tedious and BORing, and dreadfully dreadfully dull!!).
Very much looking forward to your survey.
Trevor Pinnock is a true genius.
There are so many recordings..I think I have at least a dozen. I just purchased the Leonhardt. It is fun to isten to Von Karajan's version - not my favorite. B. Britten is pretty good. I see there is a version by Horenstein on Vox??? Who knew.
This was rather interesting... and I just cannot believe you do not like these concertos, given the overview you gave. Apparently you have a soft spot for the Czech Phil in the era of Karel Ančerl, yet you have not come across a group of the same (selected) players doing also baroque music off-duty - I mean the 'Ars Rediviva'. Its leader, Milan Munclinger, was one of the few pioneers - he was one of those who prepared the ways for the later outbreak of baroque ensembles. (Czech Nicolas Harnoncourt, sort of.) If anything relevant in the field of baroque music interpretation came out from behind the Iron Curtain AT THAT TIME (late 1950s till 1970s), the legacy of Ars Rediviva must be a part of it.
The Brandenburg concertos were published in 1965 for the first time, and were later available in a charming CD box with the orchestral suites. Today they are only available as downloads. The current critics usually dismiss these recordings as 'etwas altbacken und lahm' but you may check them yourself. Take e.g. the concerto No 2 with the trumpet or the concerto No 6 - they are all on TH-cam...
I have come across those recordings, and I do find them "etwas altbacke und lahm." But that's OK. Let's not exaggerate the importance of everything and everyone just because it exists.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Thanks for the explanation.
How refreshing and what a nice surprise! This is exactly how I feel about J.S. Bach too. And, yep 1052 is also my favourite concerto and the only one (aside from the Brandenburgs) I truly enjoy and often return to (Cafe Zimmermann's version is the one I like best). I also find a lot of his music tedious, but I doubt (euphemism) Bach thought the whole current catalogue of surviving works was worth preserving for all eternity; thus, he shouldn't bear most of the blame. In conclusion, I guess ears really don't lie then if you listen to the music and not the myth, the Uber-Zeus of Musical Academies.
I have to agree with your assessment of Bach's Music. There is an old saying " a little Bach goes a long way". He can sound perfunctory in many instances. However IMHO to my ear, every one of the Brandenburgs is a gem from the first note to the last. He was definitely inspired when he penned those concertos.
Hi David, have you heard the version with The Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra and Yehudi Menuhin on Angel LP? That’s my favorite but I no longer have a turntable and I read in a review that the digital remaster is not very good. I checked out the Vivarte recording on TH-cam and although it’s beautifully performed, it’s a bit staid for my tastes. On the other hand, I hate these “slash and burn” interpretations. The Cafe Zimmerman comes closest to my tastes. I listened on TH-cam and it’s just like you said - there’s a real joy in their playing. That’s the one I’ll order. Thanks for turning me on to it.
I haven't heard the Menuhin in decades, but it just goes to show how impossible it is to encompass the entire discography of "basic repertoire" works like these.
I thought I was the only one. I always loved Handel and scarlatti more than papa Bach. Now about that PDQ Bach, ,,,,,,,,
Paul G
See, I knew it! We are lonely no longer! It's OK not to like Bach so much.
My imprint recording of the Brandenburgs was Karl Ristenpart and the Orchestra de la Saar on Nonesuch sourced I believe from Erato.
Regarding Bach, with due respect to all views and opinions, for me he is the greatest composer. It’s the indescribable spirituality that pervades practically everything he composed that astounds me - even Art of Fugue (a good subject for a session Dave) is deeply transcendent to my ears.
I'd love to to AOF sometime, and your view of Bach is shared by many.
Yeah, Bach is pretty dull to listen to for the most part, and unlike a couple of other composers who are very highly rated in Mozart and Mahler, I don't think he's really overrated. The set I found of the Brandenburgs that I liked is those of Yehudi Menuhin. I thought he breathed much needed life into them, much like Maria Joao Pires did with Mozart's piano sonatas after I bought Christoph Eschenbach's flat sounding set, ugh!
My favourite recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are on Philips Classics, with the legendary Italian chamber ensemble I Musici