Would Bach be thrilled to be played by Keith Jarrett?
Album Of The WeekFrom the Lebrecht Album of the Week:
C P E Bach, the senior composer among J S Bach’s sons waited more than two centuries for his work to be taken up by a famous interpreter and, when it was, the recording was left in a can for 30 years. The US jazz pianist Keith Jarrett does not play by the normal rules of engagement but this, even by his standards, is off the scale. Jarrett says on this release, “I heard the Württemberg Sonatas, recorded by harpsichordists. And I felt there was space left for a piano version.”
Fair enough, but why —…
Read on here.
And here.
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Have to agree with Norm on this one. It’s a very nice recording but like much of Jarrett’s Bach its too subdued. Especially with CPE’s music which is so varying in its moods and flavors and emotions. Still a nice way to listen for a late night or a relaxing time.
I have not heard Jarrett playing CPE Bach yet, but his Köln concert is on of the most breathtaking things I have ever heard.
Every composer would be pleased to have his/her music played and recorded.
No-one will be booking keith Jarrett. His stroke means he can’t play live anymore. Of his classical recordings I actually found this to be the most appealing.
“His reading is agreeable enough, but wearing after a while.”
This only means that Mr. Jarrett played CPE Bach’s music carefully. It really gets tiring after two sonatas, if you can handle that much.
Imagine how boring that it would be for jazz pianists to listen to C.P. E. or any classical pianist with their stiff, corny nuances.
All jazz pianists are very boring, their music is as a rule very banal, almost infantile. Mr Jarrett is wonderful when he goes beyond jazz, in his solo concerts 1972-1996. Other “jazzy” guys who are exceptions to the rule are the solo performances by Cecil Taylor and by Alexander von Schlippenbach, the first a post-Stockhausen pianist (all of his solos can be listened as paraphrases of Klavierstücke X) the second a post-Schoenberg avant-gardist. Good as a variation, but I prefer Brahms.
It’s ok if you hate Jazz piano (a matter you probably don’t know much about), just please spare us all the nonsense you write.
Foolish snobbish response, and a true lack of musical knowledge.
A supreme egotist mining old recordings. And he picked dull music to release. Since I have worked with him, I know that he has reams and reams of live performance recordings from the 80’s, 90’s and oughts that are very satisfying, exciting, and even deep offerings. I have no idea why, short of record company meddling, he would chose these substandard compositions. But according to him, everything he does is outstanding.
I’m a huge fan of Keith Jarrett, own dozens of recordings and have played the published transcription of ‘The Köln Concert’. But his classical recordings seem pretty mundane to me. The Preludes and Fugues of Bach and Shostakovich, for instance, have far more interesting readings out there than Jarrett’s.