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Hi Everyone,

I noticed that Alessio Bax's recording of this is on youtube. I don't if this is with his approval but I believe it is worth hearing especially due to all the interesting little touches he gives to the music and also, as with the octave section a little after 2:35, due to his ability to keep in all the musical inflections even with such choices of tempo.

I know him personally and have always believed in him as a pianist ever since back in the days when he was enrolled with the S.M.U. Artist Certificate programme. Probably one could wake him up at 3am and he could sit down and play it like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PuA8UAm6EE


M.

Just started listening - this is really terrific playing, and the comments that accompany the video are very nice to read. I used to have bad connotations with this particular transcription, and a part of me still thinks that the Brahms one for left hand alone is more powerful in all its simplicty, though naturally it doesn't make use of the pianos inherent resources the way that Busoni's transcription succesfully does. It's just that I partially think that the Bach original is so strong by itself that a subjective version like the one by Busoni is almost superfluous. The Brahms gives the pianist a challenge similar to the one faced by a violinist, by making the pianist do everything with one hand alone. Still, Bax makes a very convincing case for playign this. Beautiful! And stunning control.

+1

+1, except that I still do ....because I rarely hear a performance that I can stomach. I don't think it's necessarily Busoni's fault.


+1


+1

When I played the Bach-Busoni version of the Toccata, Adagio & Fugue, I did everything I could to bring it back closer to the original -- to make it as close as I could to a piano version of the original piece. That's what I'd want to do with the Chaconne too, except that I think I'd need a violin for that.


Well, pretty convincing anyway.

Ha! I basically agree with everything above, just that I thought that it'd be rude to the TERRIFIC pianist to say that he makes a "pretty convincing case". But in essence, yes, that's what he does. I'd rather listen to him play something else, but huge respect for the work done.

....speaking of which, I need to pick up that Brahms transcription again