Piano Forum

How do you (or would you) play the grace notes that adorn Variation 25 - the big jumps, that is, the D to Bb, then C to Ab (bars 1 and 2 respectively)?  I find some pianists play them as 32nds (demi-semiquavers), others as semiquavers/16ths (I think).

They are notated just like the grace notes in the previous beats (Eb-D and D-C respectively) in the full score I downloaded from PianoStreet, with small semiquavers. Those first ones are acciaccaturas, played before the principle note - I don't suppose anyone would play the jumps that way, but with the grace note on the beat (appoggiaturas - if my quick google is correct - and I think I'm right in calling them 'grace notes' despite the big jump).

I gather there are all sorts of ways composers used these marks, and playing them is also a style choice, so this isn't about the 'correct' way to play them. But does anyone have any hunches about what Bach intended? And, more puzzling to me - if they were intended to be semiquavers (or indeed if not) - why not just notate them as part of the time signature, so (in the long version) a normal semiquaver? ...with the top note as another semiquaver tied to the demi-semiquaver. Is the essential point to indicate that it's entirely optional to play them anyway?

Glenn Gould - long (and some later ones he misses out and goes straight to the principle note) =2124

Paul Barton (with score) - long -

Kimiko Ishizaka (with score) - short - =3582