Bach suggestions

[aslanov]

I've never played anything baroque before, and i've started to FINALLY begin to understand bach's music, and have taken an interest in it.
I was wondering what repertoire suggestions you guys have for someone thats never played something of bach's.
Example of pieces i've learned are rachmaninov's prelude op. 3 no. 2, chopin's 20th nocturne, and most recently the allegro movement of beethovens op. 2 no. 1 sonata

thanks

[jlh]

Inventions, Preludes and fugues, Anna Magdalena's Notebook... etc.

 

[go12_3]

You can try Bach's  Prelude and Fugue in E flat in WTC II.
Also,  Prelude and Fugue in c minor, f minor and g minor.
Prelude in C Major  In WTC I 

best wishes,

go12_3

[aslanov]

You can try Bach's  Prelude and Fugue in E flat in WTC II.
Also,  Prelude and Fugue in c minor, f minor and g minor.
Prelude in C Major  In WTC I 

best wishes,

go12_3

e flat major? minor?

[go12_3]

e flat major? minor?

Oh,,  E flat Major   

[pianoplayer002]

For his preludes and fugues, I suggest you start with something easy. Playing Bach will improve your contrapunctual (is that a word?  ) playing a lot but it can be a bit difficult in the beggining. I suggest

prelude and fugue in c minor BWV 847.
The prelude requires good control and fast, exact fingers and may take quite a while to learn and get up in tempo. The fugue is one of the easiest in Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, and is a good start when learning to play fugues.

another popular one is prelude and fugue in d minor BWV 851.
The prelude is good for your motorics and is nothing too difficult. The fugue is, like the c minor fugue, a 3 voice fugue, but IMO it is a step up in difficulty.

have fun

EDIT:

added videos for the two preludes & fugues I mentioned to inspire you :

[arumih]

I'd say definitely don't start with any fugues. If you've never played any heavy contrapuntal work before, fugues aren't really the place to start. Start with the inventions and see how those go for you. Inventions 1, 4, 8, 13 are popular (and among the easier ones). Maybe then move on to the sinfonias, then attempt a fugue. Can't give any advice on which are easy/hard among the fugues seeing that I never played any of them. I can imagine though it will be much easier to jump into them having worked on 2 and 3 voiced pieces.

Also, if you haven't been, start listening to a lot more fugues and other contrapuntal works. Try following along with the score just to get you thinking. Preludes pianoplayer recommended may be good based on the fact that they're not heavy with counterpoint. There should be a ranked list of the preludes and fugues floating around somewhere on these boards if you search hard enough! Good luck!