Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Feinberg)

Performed by Samuil Feinberg

0:00 Prelude No.1 in C major
2:30 Fugue No. 1 in C major
4:42 Prelude No. 2 in C minor
6:08 Fugue No. 2 in C minor
7:38 Prelude No. 3 in C-sharp major
9:05 Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major
11:07 Prelude No. 4 in C-sharp minor
13:55 Fugue No. 4 in C-sharp minor
18:52 Prelude No. 5 in D major
20:04 Fugue No. 5 in D major
21:57 Prelude No. 6 in D minor
23:22 Fugue No. 6 in D minor
25:38 Prelude No. 7 in E-flat major
28:43 Fugue No. 7 in E-flat major
30:17 Prelude No. 8 in E-flat minor
34:35 Fugue No. 8 in D-sharp minor
39:25 Prelude No. 9 in E major
40:38 Fugue No. 9 in E major
41:41 Prelude No. 10 in E minor
44:11 Fugue No. 10 in E minor
45:21 Prelude No. 11 in F major
46:21 Fugue No. 11 in F major
47:29 Prelude No. 12 in F minor
49:20 Fugue No. 12 in F minor
54:39 Prelude No. 13 in F-sharp major
55:55 Fugue No. 13 in F-sharp major
57:42 Prelude No. 14 in F-sharp minor
58:44 Fugue No. 14 in F-sharp minor
1:02:34 Prelude No. 15 in G major
1:03:20 Fugue No. 15 in G major
1:05:46 Prelude No. 16 in G minor
1:07:37 Fugue No. 16 in G minor
1:10:30 Prelude No. 17 in A-flat major
1:11:48 Fugue No. 17 in A-flat major
1:14:33 Prelude No. 18 in G-sharp minor
1:15:49 Fugue No. 18 in G-sharp minor
1:18:14 Prelude No. 19 in A major
1:19:10 Fugue No. 19 in A major
1:21:09 Prelude No. 20 in A minor
1:22:18 Fugue No. 20 in A minor
1:26:34 Prelude No. 21 in B-flat major
1:27:44 Fugue No. 21 in B-flat major
1:29:07 Prelude No. 22 in B-flat minor
1:31:33 Fugue No. 22 in B-flat minor
1:34:48 Prelude No. 23 in B major
1:35:52 Fugue No. 23 in B major
1:38:05 Prelude No. 24 in B minor
1:42:47 Fugue No. 24 in B minor

[Fritz_Maisenbacher]

1:19:12 . My preferred Feinberg's moment in the whole book . He brings this fugue not as another frozen "Zen Bach session", which would be typical of the stupid way of seeing Bach today, but as an incredible living thing, struggling with (or against) both the pianist and the listener, some sort of audible meteorite . Lifting us outside, in an extatic fever, giving no solution to nothing, but blowing, like crazy, a wind of true revelation .

[myAutoGen]

Wow, the d minor prelude, book 1. I've never heard it like that before. He brings out voices in the triplets that everyone else seems to miss.

[mankiperukangas]

This is the greatest recording of this work. Not Richter, Gould or Fischer, but Feinberg.

[ecampeador]

This is what the Information Age is supposed to be like... You feel like listening to one of the greatest works by one of the greatest composers that ever walked the Earth? Just open YouTube and search for it. And there it is, with full scores to boot! This is a priceless service for humanity. Everyone can listen to this divine music, for free, anywhere, anytime. This counteracts, in a way, all the garbage that is thrown at us every day. BRAVO, Jacky Tran. Thanks from a music & peace lover.

[rs-dms]

I have heard the prelude in C major played by so many artists I can't even guess at how many.
In my mind's ear, every time I listened to it being played by some great pianist, I heard the final dozen or so bars played the way Feinberg plays them in this recording. When I heard this for the first time it was like being re-united with a long-lost beloved and imaginary friend.

[richardzuelch]

Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962). Recorded, presumably in Moscow (1958-1961). Some say his is the best recording of Bach's work.

[TempodiPiano]

I have studied the wtc1 for 20 years and this video is a present. Thank you very much.

[stevehinnenkamp]

Glorious! Fresh, vibrant and expressive playing with joy, sorrow, solemnity, yes even humor. JS Bach could express them all. This incredible artist makes them come alive. Could not bear to stop listening. Genius played by an interpretive genius!

[andretv]

This is the greatness of YouTube, so many people think the computer is a bad thing, when they say that I just show them stuff like this. Thank you for doing this!

[alexanderk.]

Samuel Feinberg is one of the greatest re-tellers of the WTC ---- Ah! he did have a true SOUL (Hey! music is but one of the languages of our humane universe -- like mathematics, physics, literature, visual arts, etc.) -- and so our soul truly SPEAKS. Bravo!

[fourdaysdead]

it gives so much inspiration for modern composers, Bach created all the melodies ahead of time

[monelleny]

OMG, I can't believe you did all this! It is a classic recording, with all the matching sheet music, no less. Thank you so much, what a lovely gift!!!

[mcoldewey]

Want to add my thanks for uploading this and the second book as well. And it's not just another WTC - Feinberg's playing is fascinating, individual, personal, and unlike any other Bach playing I've heard.

[TiticatFollies]

I love this. It's wonderful to start the morning with it.

[wesmusic]

Thank you for this precious and wonderful upload! It has a touch of divinity in it. Thank you, Mr Feinberg for dedicating your life to music. No composer is like J S Bach, who was God-sent.

[chessiepique]

Yes, thank you for sharing this recording with us! It is lovely.

[praxisdev]

It amazes me when listeners complain about “too much expression”, and that these should be performed more mechanically. What would be the point of trying reproducing this beautiful music “exactly” the way Bach intended as it was written on a harpsichord? Interpreters of this music should indeed impart their personality into this music while, of course, honoring the feeling of the period. Would we really want to listen to a thousand similar sounding interpretations? I don’t think so.

[darnaah]

I could listen to the second fugue a million times over !

[manuelespinosa]

Indeed not only excelent player but also superb setting of indexing and addition of the music reading

[alisonbennett]

Thank you for this performance. Bach's fugues featured in a book I have just read "The Piano Tuner" written by a young American writer about British colonisation of Burma in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The story is made so much more credible and alive by having heard this music. I really enjoyed the whole performance of this music. I am not a pianist and I liked the emotional response of the player to the music rather than presenting it as a purely mechanical exercise.