Why not play Bach violin partitas on the piano?

[mramateur]

I'm probably not the first to get this idea, but I thought it was worth sharing.
 I've listened to some of Bach's partitas and realised that although they may be terribly difficult on the violin, they'll be a lot easier to play on a piano.
Even though the piano will change the sound of the pieces (and offend those who insist on doing EXACTLY what the composer intended), I figured I should give it a try.
In my case, my violin skills aren't nearly good enough for me to attempt the partitas on the right instrument (I happen to be an amateur violinist), so this is pretty much the only way for me to play them.

What do you guys think?

[musikalischer_wirbelwind_280]

Well, I'm just an amateur pianist myself, and as I said on another post, I don't get to lay hands on my piano half as often as I still did a few years ago, but back then I used to play Bach's violin partitas and sonatas, as well as the cello suites on the piano.

I have never so much as touched a violin or a cello, let alone play on either, so in my case that was the only chance I got of having fun with them, but there was another benefit: exercising each hand separately with equally challenging material.

Sure, there are bits in all of those works where, unless you're an octopus, you just can't play the notes with one hand only, and must let the cheater within you show what he's capable of  , but most of the time it's actually feasible and quite rewarding.

As for offending some folks because of playing them that way, I never cared much about it since I was almost always doing it for my own pleasure.

[brogers70]

I'm probably not the first to get this idea, but I thought it was worth sharing.
 I've listened to some of Bach's partitas and realised that although they may be terribly difficult on the violin, they'll be a lot easier to play on a piano.
Even though the piano will change the sound of the pieces (and offend those who insist on doing EXACTLY what the composer intended), I figured I should give it a try.
In my case, my violin skills aren't nearly good enough for me to attempt the partitas on the right instrument (I happen to be an amateur violinist), so this is pretty much the only way for me to play them.

What do you guys think?

Go for it. Brahms has a great arrangement of the Chaconne fom the d minor partita for left hand on the piano. I've seen left hand arrangements of the gavotte en rondeau from the E major Partita, and both hands arrangements of a couple of the fugues from the solo violin sonatas.

[lelle]

I think it sounds like a great idea, I want to try it myself! Can you give me one reason why you WOULDN'T allow yourself to do this?

[mramateur]

I think it sounds like a great idea, I want to try it myself! Can you give me one reason why you WOULDN'T allow yourself to do this?

None at all.

[klavierking]

Godowsky has arranged the 1st and 2nd Violin Sonatas (I guess he couldn't make No.3 work). They sound great, if rather difficult to play! Konstantin Scherbakov has recorded them on a Marco Polo CD. (What is labeled as Sonata No.2 is actually Partita No.1, and what is labeled Sonata No.3 is actually Sonata No.2 on the CD.)

[lelle]

Godowsky seems like a guy who arranged lots of stuff, but I rarely check out his stuff because I feel like it will probably be really difficult. Should I change my mind on that? 

[nw746]

Gustav Leonhardt has arranged all of the violin partitas and sonatas and cello suites for harpsichord, I believe. One could therefore potentially also play them on the piano. Whether his arrangements are published I don't know.

[anacrusis]

Found em here, if anyone wants to buy them 

https://www.baerenreiter.com/en/shop/product/details/BA11820/

(Oh God, let's hope the mods don't think I am a spammer/advertiser now)

[klavierking]

Here's the Sonata No.1:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRHQY_LmwOk
(I couldn't embed it for some reason.)

[dw4rn]

Very very good idea, but as you say - not new It was done already in Bach's own time and apparently quite frequently by the composer himself.