Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (Excerpts) Piotr Anderszewski

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870:
• 1 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870: I. Prelude 03:17
• 2 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870: II. Fugue 01:37
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881:
• 3 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881: I. Prelude 03:38
• 4 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881: II. Fugue 01:42
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886:
• 5 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886: I. Prelude 03:32
• 6 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886: II. Fugue 02:56
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877:
• 7 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877: I. Prelude 05:20
• 8 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877: II. Fugue 04:45
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880:
• 9 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880: I. Prelude 03:04
• 10 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880 II. Fugue 01:39
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891:
• 11 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891: I. Prelude 03:11
• 12 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891: II. Fugue 05:51
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876:
• 13 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876: I. Prelude 02:12
• 14 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876: II. Fugue 01:38
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885:
• 15 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885: I. Prelude 02:48
• 16 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885: II. Fugue 02:41
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878:
• 17 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878: I. Prelude 04:51
• 18 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878: II. Fugue 02:34
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887:
• 19 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887: I. Prelude 03:56
• 20 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887: II. Fugue 06:58
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892:
• 21 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892: I. Prelude 01:36
• 22 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892: II. Fugue 03:53
• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893:
• 23 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893: I. Prelude 02:20
• 24 Bach, JS: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893: II. Fugue 01:54
• Total Runtime 01:17:53

Info for Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (Excerpts)

Piotr Anderszewski takes a characteristically creative approach to Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-tempered Clavier). Rather than recording all 48 of its prelude-and-fugue pairings, he has focused on 12 pairings from Book Two. “I decided to put the pieces together in a sequence of my own subjective choosing, based sometimes on key relationships, at other times on contrasts. The idea behind this specific order is to create a sense of drama that suggests a cycle: 12 characters conversing with one another, mirroring each other.” Anderszewski’s last Erato album of Bach prompted BBC Music Magazine to write: “For anyone who loves Bach (or the piano) … this life-enhancing disc is required listening.

"Anderszewski here poses a most intriguing question: what happens when you take a group of 12 Preludes and Fugues from Book 2 of the ‘48’ and intermingle them? The result...is less of a box of Quality Street to be consumed slumped on the sofa and more of an invitation to a cocktail party of great sophistication. Anderszewski says in the note that he perceives them as character pieces and indeed the result has the feeling of a Baroque Carnaval." (Gramophone Magazine)

Piotr Anderszewski, piano

Piotr Anderszewski
is regarded as one of the outstanding musicians of his generation. In recent seasons he has given recitals at London's Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall New York and the Mariinsky Concert Hall in St Petersburg. His collaborations with orchestra have included appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago and London Symphony orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Concertgebouw. He has also given many performances directing from the keyboard, with orchestras such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Piotr Anderszewski has been an exclusive artist with Warner Classics/Erato (previously Virgin Classics) since 2000. His first recording for the label was Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, which went on to receive a number of prizes including a Choc du Monde de la Musique and an ECHO Klassik award. He has also recorded a Grammy-nominated CD of Bach's Partitas 1, 3 and 6 and a critically-acclaimed disc of works by Chopin. His affinity with the music of his compatriot Szymanowski is captured in a highly-praised recording of the composer's solo piano works, which received the Classic FM Gramophone Award in 2006 for best instrumental disc. His most recent recording devoted to solo works by Robert Schumann received an ECHO Klassik award in 2011 and two BBC Music Magazine awards in 2012, including Recording of the Year.

Recognised for the intensity and originality of his interpretations, Piotr Anderszewski has been singled out for several high profile awards throughout his career, including the prestigious Gilmore award, given every four years to a pianist of exceptional talent.

He has also been the subject of two award-winning documentaries by the film maker Bruno Monsaingeon for ARTE. The first of these, Piotr Anderszewski plays the Diabelli Variations (2001) explores Anderszewski's particular relationship with Beethoven's opus 120, whilst the second, Piotr Anderszewski, Unquiet Traveller (2008) is an unusual artist portrait, capturing Anderszewski's reflections on music, performance and his Polish-Hungarian roots. A third film by Monsaingeon, Anderszewski Plays Schumann was made for Polish Television and first broadcast in 2010.

In the 2014-15 season Anderszewski can be heard in recital at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall. His orchestral engagements include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Wiener Symphoniker, as well as three appearances in Bamberg as part of a residency with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Additional highlights include a series of recitals with the baritone Matthias Goerne in Vienna, Berlin and London.

Booklet for Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (Excerpts)