Friedrich Gulda, pianist
On this CD, Mr. Gulda performs the Bach English Suites #2 and #3, as well as the Italian concerto, and two additional Bach selections.
When I think about listening to Bach, I usually turn to recordings by Glenn Gould, Andras Schiff, and more recently also Martha Argerich. Since Martha Argerich was a student of Friedrich Gulda, I was really curious about his playing of Bach. And I must say I am really glad I discovered this CD. Compared to Glenn Gould and Argerich, Gulda’s Bach is less extreme in tempi, but really full of life and rhythm. Compared to Gould, Gulda uses more dynamics, in a very convincing way.
These are quite old recordings, but the sound is really excellent.
Gulda’s interpretations are entirely natural and highly musical. He does not tamper with the score in order to achieve originality as did some other Bach performers in the 20th century.
This is a very authentic Bach reading, and absolutely spell-binding performances.
The disc concludes with a prelude and fugue by Gulda in the style of Bach, and crowns off a most interesting album.
Here is Gulda playing Claude Debussy:
And here is Gulda performing Bach:
If you’d like to purchase the Gulda CD at Amazon, please click on the image below:
Tags: Friedrich Gulda, Bach
After the first bar I would have guessed it to be Martha. If you listen to her English Suite I wonder if you would feel the same. It really swings – just like hers. Thanks for the info and I will get Gulda’s disc. Roberta