[VIDEO] BACH/BUSONI: PRELUDE AND FUGUE IN D BWV 532

[aaronpetit]

The rarely played prelude and fugue originally for Organ, transcribed for Busoni. This work was largely made popular by Gilels who inspired me to make it my own as well.

Thanks for watching!
Aaron

[georgey]

Enjoyed this!!  Coincidentally, I have been listening all week to a new CD of mine:  Bach organ works transcribed for piano by D’albert (1864-1932) (Piano Classics, pianist Delucchi ).  The first piece on this CD is this same wonderful work.  I think D’albert (being a disciple of Liszt) maybe was more faithful to the Bach score, but the Busoni is a little flashier and GREAT.  Well done!

[quantum]

Bravo!

I am rather familiar with the organ original of this piece.  Many organists like to speed through the work, similar to the way pianists like to whiz through select Chopin Etudes.  It does after all have a rather flashy pedal part.  It is refreshing to hear another perspective of the piece.  One of my teachers used to say: the mark of a great composer is one that writes music that can be interpreted in many different ways, even perspectives that greatly contrast with one another, and yet still result in making fine music no matter how a performer approaches it. 

Your interpretation acknowledges its origins as an organ composition where an organist would use registration of stops to change tone colour, yet at the same time you play the music as if it were written for the piano, making use of the piano's resources.  I found it very musically sensitive and engaging to listen to. 

Please play more of these transcriptions. 

[aaronpetit]

Enjoyed this!!  Coincidentally, I have been listening all week to a new CD of mine:  Bach organ works transcribed for piano by D’albert (1864-1932) (Piano Classics, pianist Delucchi ).  The first piece on this CD is this same wonderful work.  I think D’albert (being a disciple of Liszt) maybe was more faithful to the Bach score, but the Busoni is a little flashier and GREAT.  Well done!

Well 3 years late, but thank you! (I haven't logged in for a long time and when I posted something new, I saw these comments among many others. Apparently I didn't have email notifications.

I am glad to hear of your recommendation of the D'albert piano classics as well. I am listening (and enjoying) right now!

[aaronpetit]

Bravo!

I am rather familiar with the organ original of this piece.  Many organists like to speed through the work, similar to the way pianists like to whiz through select Chopin Etudes.  It does after all have a rather flashy pedal part.  It is refreshing to hear another perspective of the piece.  One of my teachers used to say: the mark of a great composer is one that writes music that can be interpreted in many different ways, even perspectives that greatly contrast with one another, and yet still result in making fine music no matter how a performer approaches it. 

Your interpretation acknowledges its origins as an organ composition where an organist would use registration of stops to change tone colour, yet at the same time you play the music as if it were written for the piano, making use of the piano's resources.  I found it very musically sensitive and engaging to listen to. 

Please play more of these transcriptions. 

Well 3 years late, but thank you! (I haven't logged in for a long time and when I posted something new, I saw these comments among many others. Apparently I didn't have email notifications.

I am so appreciative of your comments. Thank you for the kind words! I agree on all fronts. Over time, I have grown to perhaps here the prelude a little faster, but my approach is still the same. Lot's of color and variety of sound. I think the tempo should still be slower than most organ versions because the piano needs more time to expand and open up since it's tone color is so different. And it need more time to control dynamics and balance which would be automatically taken care of with different stops on the organ, etc.

I do hope to do more transcriptions some day. I love Bach in any form. There is just too much great music and not enough time to master it. I read through various things almost every day, but it's hard to really commit and finish any 1 piece any more when my interests are so broad from 1500's-modern day. haha.

Thanks again for the support!

[anacrusis]

Holy crap that was amazing! Fantastic playing! You made me really want to learn this haha, but it looks awfully difficult at times. But you handle it like a true virtuoso!