"...for the benefit and use of inquisitive musical youth".
Robert Greiveldinger | Milwaukee, WI, USA | 08/19/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"According to the rather extensive liner notes for this release, "Inventionen und Sinfonien", J.S. Bach (1685-1750) never intended the works recorded here to be played as recital pieces. Yet in the ensuing centuries this is to some degree what they have become. And under the fingers of Till Fellner, this ECM recording proves that even the most restrained of Bach's compositions contained inside them universes of music within the atoms of simple line and melody.
These are very linear pieces, with nary a single chord throughout the entire 68 minute running time. One notes passes in queue to the next, falling as dominoes with nothing to block their path. As to be expected of exercises, the pieces are short; of the first 30 tracks, only a handful are over two minutes in length. Of particular note is Sinfonien II in C-minor, easily the best known of all the melodies on this collection, winding its way down the melodic staircase with the right hand, only to creep back up in unbroken meter with the left, swinging-in-lamentation as only Bach could write 'em.
ECM's sparse, dense, but crystal-clear production leaves the piano notes momentarily, individually, suspended in the air, as pale whitened bones hanging inside a darkened closet. The result is to draw the listener into each nuance and space between the notes, resulting in a durable sound which compels the listener to return to the recordings again and again.
Keyboardist Till Fellner is still only in his 30's, but already has an international reputation as a recognized authoritative interpreter of Baroque and Romantic era classical music. With this recording he continues to strengthen that claim.
Because of the limited audience for such material, these particular compositions are not often recorded, which makes this recording all the more useful, interesting and important.
Anyone with even a cursory exposure to these compositions, either as a student of music or simply, as Bach himself put it, an "inquisitive musical youth", will be impressed by both Fellner's probing performance and the Master's lesser-known, little musical 'inventions'.
"
Till Fellner: JSBach Inventions & Sinfonias: Stellar, intell
Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 12/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Any piano student will sooner or later get acquainted with the JS Bach Inventions, two-part voiced; then the Sinfonias in three voices. Yet as typical with the great composer, these brief works are marvels of musical thinking, and come across as eternities of music far beyond their strictly pedagogical uses.
Ah, that sheer instrumental or vocal technique was ever so wedded to art?
Till Fellner won the Clara Haskil prize. His playing indeed reminds a listener of the prize namesake - fluid, tonally transparent, inflected and phrased with great restraint and subtlety - no banging. Like Wanda Landowska, Clara Haskil always seemed to be playing music for the sheer love of music. Ditto, for Fellner. One wishes he got more attention. Hear him live, whenever possible, too.
Delight in this disc meanwhile. Fellner is not imitating Glenn Gould. Or anybody else, for that matter, no matter how fine their Bach playing. I'd rank Fellner right up there high, with the likes of Sergey Schepkin when it comes to playing Bach on the modern grand piano. Fellner has played the modern piano long enough to develop his own physical and musical roots; and his powerful relationship with the modern keyboard shows in every note of every bar. Plus, great, great, great affection for the composer. Plus, the kind of musical intelligence that illuminates harmony, phrasing, tonal values - all lighted from within, not set fire with breezy flash from without.
Tempos are mainstream, aptly chosen, suited to the individual works, plus the ebb and flow of the complete sets as gathered and published. If any keyboard composer can sustain this manner, let alone demand it, it must be JS Bach. Kudos, too, to the recording engineers who have caught the piano sound just right for this repertoire, not to close, not too distant.
This excellent disc wraps up by giving up JS Bach's fifth French Suite, BWV 816. a not inconsiderable filler and complement to the complete sets of Inventions and Sinfonias.
No doubts at all. Five stars."
Not tillner's best
drollere | Sebastopol, CA United States | 01/18/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"i have great admiration for fellner's performance of WTC I (see my review there), but this disc struck me as short of the same standard. though the playing is excellent throughout, and there is no lack of beauty to find in fellner's interpretations, the disk as a whole seems bland compared to the variety and nuance in the earlier bach piece. i had expected by the odd recital pairing to find some insights into both sets, but the tempos are generally on the slow side (compared to other performances, such as schiff's), and the restricted musical scope of these two and three voice etudes creates a sense of blandness, which is reinforced by the unexpectedly restrained performance of the dance suite. fellner now seems to have a weakness for prettiness and he may need more challenging recital programs to overcome it."
Track Listings (37) - Disc #1