Just up on you tube - A VIDEO clip of the upcoming CD.

Jeffrey shares his thoughts as well as clips, with a great technique closeup as frosting on the cake with 'Courante' from the French Suite #5 at the end.

The first recording for the new Steinway & Sons label - 'Bach on a Steinway', J.S. Bach played in a 17th century style, Jeffrey Biegel, pianist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKq3pEHJnbM

best seen at 720 b HD and full view





http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/a...

Thanks for posting this! I hope everyone will get the cd and enjoy it. It was certainly an exciting cd to record!

Nice work from what I just heard. Love the D major prelude...it's part of my technical warm-up every day. Was that a Kalmus edition of the Toccatas that I saw? Hahahaha.

Jeffrey,
This is wonderful, especially your playing of the Courante! Thanks!!

Sophia

i dont like many painists versions of bach besides gould.... i gotta say i love it... love your playing.

i've always liked the rather strong and near percusive style to articulate the multiple lines of music and you do that well.

congrads.

I agree. I love the additional ornamentation on the repeats. Very tasteful.

Beautifully done! I will look forward to the CD.

Thank you, lilylady, for posting the video!

Regards,

Yes, it is Kalmus. Adele Marcus preferred the Hans Bischoff editions on what was Belwin-Mills--then Kalmus.

Terrific! I very much enjoyed your ornaments as well.

I am so glad everyone likes this--pianists and piano teachers are the toughest critics! You guys are the best! The ornamentation was created very carefully, so as not to upset anyone or ruffle purist feathers. I think we accomplished what we set out to do.

This is just how I like my Bach. I only wish more pianists in the world had the guts to pull it off. Well done, sir, and thank you.

The way your ornaments sound-fluid and lyrical in the midst of all of that ordered, articulate counterpoint, shows true mastery.

Bravo

Meh....in spite of a wrongminded motivation, I still really liked the ornaments. Probably not as much as if your intention was specifically to upset purists and leave them with terribly ruffled feathers.

Yay, I'm in good company! All of my Bach is in Kalmus!

Well done, Jeffrey! I loved the performances. The variation in ornaments was nicely done, and well within the notion of baroque playing (in my opinion).

Excellent playing!! Great job!! I can't wait to get the recording!!

God, I can't believe ANYONE uses Kalmus for Bach.

Good tasteful job - we've come a long way since Gould!

I would bet large sums of money that Mr. Biegel loves Glenn Gould's Bach.

There are things that Mr. Gould did that were quite wonderful. But overall, I think he went in a direction that he truly believed the piano could imitate a harpsichord and the ornamentation was executed in the style of the harpsichord. The sonority of the piano was a bit too dry and brittle for my taste, and thus, lost the uniqueness of the piano's ability to produce Bach's vocal lines and warmth. But that's just my opinion. He was a genius in his use of Baroque practice, no matter the instrument.

Uh oh.....I think I lost my bet....good thing no one took me up on it!

This is absolutely great ! I can't wait to get the cd and have a listen. How was the recording process? I'd love to hear anything your willing to tell us about it.

I'd have taken your bet had I seen what you'd said. It's obvious from Mr. Biegel's playing that he is in no way affected by the Gould syndrome (thank God).

Recording was great fun. Some run throughs and hardly a fix here and there. I wanted complete takes so I can say, 'I can play it like that without stops and starts'.

I agree! He's not my reference for Bach, that's for sure. But I do not want to label him as a bad pianist at all. Very gifted man.

On topic, amazing video! Your CD will be fantastic for sure!

1:39 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE THAT PIECE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not sure what you mean by "the Gould syndrome", although I am assuming you are referring to pianists whose Bach sounds like an imitation of Gould's style and approach.
If that is what you mean, I would agree with you that what I heard of Biegel's Bach is his own and not an imitation of Gould or anyone else.
And I apologize to Mr. Biegel for answering the other person's comment on Gould and distracting focus from his wonderful playing.

Myra Hess was a wonderful Bach player, as was Edwin Fischer. But the main things I learned from Adele Marcus were rhythm, vocal lines, terraced dynamics, voicing as in a chamber orchestra, touch and phrasing. And, making the ornaments as part of the melodic material--slow ornaments in slow pieces, faster in fast pieces. One should be able to sing any phrase at any given time.

All excellent points with Bach.

If I may ask, please add your comments at You Tube for the Bach video. It would be so helpful and appreciated! Thanks so very much!

I'm jealous i cant make a living playing music... count your lucky stars my friend, you earned it.

wow o wow.

absolutely superb. I apologize for sounding sexist but i love hearing a man play Bach like a man, providing something beyond the sterile perfection of the music as written.

i enjoy sterility and finesse but am impressed with your manly rendering of this music that exhibits such gusto and life. your music springs from the piano.

I do imagine Bach as a passionate, lively and strong man... who played with great aplomb and flourish....a show off and entertainer as well as genius.

What other songs are you recording on this cd?

(off to see if i can still rip thru the D major prelude, which i too warm up with occasionally).



I loved the courante and the aria(?) close to the beginning - (what is that?)

My goodness, apple. Sterility, finesse and a feminine condition are hardly equivalent. You can have your Bach "rare" or even tartare without impugning women performers.

Good luck with your CD Jeff. Good previews so far!