Ruth Leon recommends… Bach – The Art of Fugue – Angela Hewitt
Ruth Leon recommendsBach – The Art of Fugue – Angela Hewitt
Wigmore Hall’s Summer Replay, its catalogue of repeat live performances on video, has kept me going this summer. There hasn’t been a week that I haven’t dipped into it, no matter where I’ve been. Now that I’m home again, I’ve saved one of my favourites to the last.
Bach’s monumental Art of Fugue isn’t one to ‘dip into’. No, under the fingers and brain and artistry of a wonderful Canadian pianist, Angela Hewitt, this is a programme to wallow in.
There’s rather a good BBC Radio Three introduction from announcer Gavin Plumley which you can skip if you like but, if you’re not familiar with Bach’s astounding work, or even if you are, I find it helps to be reminded, in words as well as music, what each new section is about.
Left incomplete on his death in 1750, Bach’s vast contrapuntal work nevertheless stands not only as a monument to his extraordinary abilities in this field but also to his determination to create an exemplar for others to follow. Angela Hewitt’s recording had The Times extolling its ‘radiant majesty and humanity’.
This concert, indeed, all the concerts in the Summer Reply series have been free but do leave a contribution to Wigmore Hall in the handy box. The Hall provide music-lovers and musicians with a fine service that’s worth paying for, even if you don’t have to.
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