About a year ago I extensively reviewed the Ongaku release of the Well
Tempered Clavier Book 1 performed by Sergey Schepkin.  I was very impressed
with the set and have been looking forward to his recording of Book II
which has just been issued.  Also, I recently picked up the newly reissued
WTC set from Edwin Fischer on EMI.

With the acquisition of the above two sets, I thought I'd survey a few
versions of the WTC Book II on piano:

Tureck - DG 463305 (1953) with Book 1.
Gould  - Sony 42266 (1975) with Book 1.
Aldwell- Nonesuch 79200 (1989).
Schiff - Decca 417236 (1987).
Gulda  - Philips 446548 (1973).
Fischer- EMI 67214 (1930's) with Book 1.
Schepkin-Ongaku 024-115 (1998/99).
Roberts- Nimbus 5608/11 (1999) with Book 1.
Nikolayeva - MK418043 (1984).
Hewitt- Hyperion 67303/4 (1998/99).
Jando - Naxos 8.550970/1 (1993).

For those not familiar, the WTC Book II consists of a series of 24 preludes
and fugues in the different keys.  Book 1 is arranged in a similar fashion.
Prevalent opinion is that Book II is more complex than Book I, although
each Book is certainly listener friendly.  The WTC along with the Art of
Fugue and St. Matthew Passion are my favorite Bach works.

Prelude & Fugue in C major - This is a lovely prelude displaying great
joy, longing, and tension.  It begins, unlike the C major from Book I,
in an assertive/majestic manner and never lets you go until the end.  The
descending chromatic lines are particularly stunning.  Only Fischer and
Nikolayeva are not excellent; Fischer's sound tends to get lost in softer
passages, and Nikolayeva is a little short on emotion.  It is a shame about
Fischer's sound, for his performance is the equal of any.  Gulda is by far
the fastest version, and it's infectious and emtionally charged.  Hewitt,
Jando, Gould, Schiff, and Roberts deliver great "mainstream" readings.
Schepkin and Tureck tend to linger and luxuriate in the music to fine
effect.  Aldwell gives a "pondering" performance with the most changes
in dynamics and pacing - it works wonderfully.  This is a most auspicious
start to the survey.

The Fugue in C major has great energy, speed, forward momentum, and
an enormous tension which keeps building up and being released.  Three
versions are problematic.  Nikolayeva has inconsistent pacing and gets
stalled.  Fischer's poor sound overwhelms a fine performance, and Roberts
has a few smudged passages which are distracting.  Hewitt, Aldwell, Tureck,
Jando, and Schiff are very good.  With Schepkin and Gulda we enter the
outstanding category.  Schepkin really flies through the fugue with perfect
technical skills; it's perpetual motion and a great ride.  Gulda takes the
precision approach; the listener can examine every note and take in the
dialogue.  Gould's is the best interpretation as he's even more precise
than Gulda and conveys more emotion; Gould and this fugue are a perfect
match.

Prelude & Fugue in C minor - The prelude is a two-part invention in binary
form which involves significant dialogue between the voices.  The music is
energetic and playful with passages of devilish mischief and urgency.  The
fugue is slower and more serious; it brings to my imagination a deathbed
scene where the dying person has suffered greatly and loved ones are
watching with dread.  However, there are passages of acceptance and even
anticipation by a person who has lost the desire to continue.  The music
ends with death and a sense of relief.  Bach's use of inversion and
augmentation is very effective.

Jando is at the bottom of the ladder.  He moves quickly through both
prelude and fugue, losing much sense of emotional involvement and missing
the mark badly.  Gould shows how to play the prelude very fast and still
encompass emotional weight.  Unfortunately, he employs a staccato approach
to the fugue which, for me, trivializes the music.  The fugue is definitely
not trivialized in Nikolayeva's version which packs a mighty emotional
wallop. Her prelude is almost as good - very playful, devilish, and
urgent.  Schiff is close to Nikolayeva's level; he is more soft-toned and
tender, and it works well.  Roberts, although very enjoyable, is a little
hum-drum in the fugue.  Fischer is superb in both prelude and fugue, but
his sound definitely a hindrance.  It was particularly fierce during the
second half of the fugue - just something to live with.  Tureck's also
excellent with sound much better than Fischer's.  Schepkin is slightly
rushed in the prelude but his fugue is outstanding.  Gulda is slow paced in
both pieces and stresses the counterpoint beautifully; emtional content is
high.  Hewitt and Aldwell deliver delightful preludes and beautiful fugues.
Overall, the C minor music is best served by Gulda, Nikolayeva, Hewitt, and
Aldwell.

Prelude & Fugue in C sharp - The prelude begins with a beautiful adagio
followed by a powerful forward-momentum, yet poetic allegro.  The music
is quite difficult to perform well in that the adagio and allegro call
for different aesthetics.  Seven versions have one or more significant
problems.  Schiff and Nikolayeva are good in the allegro but have a "sonic
sludge" sound in the adagio; for good measure, Nikolayeva is not inspired
in the allegro.  Jando delivers an excellent adagio followed up by a
run-through of the allegro.  Fischer is slow and very moving in the
adagio but plays the allegro as "pretty" music; his sound in the adagio is
loaded with waves of static.  My view of Fischer's reading also applies to
Schepkin except for the latter's fine recorded sound.  Hewitt just tends to
leave me cold.  Roberts is great in the allegro but I had the feeling that
he recognizes no beauty to the adagio.  The four superb versions are Gulda,
Gould, Tureck, and Aldwell.  Gulda's is a very straight-forward reading
of great clarity and the right emotional content at the right time.  The
allegro is made to order for Gould, and he uses a staccato in the adagio
which, although I initially thought robbed the music of its beauty, gives
it a blustery swagger which I now can't resist.  Tureck provides a very
beautiful, slow, and powerful adagio; her allegro is very good.  Aldwell
has the slowest adagio and it maintains great interest through his pensive
and emotionally charged playing; the allegro is also excellent.

The three-voice Fugue in C sharp is both technically and emotionally rich.
The second voice overlaps the first voice (stretto), the third comes in
already inverted, and there's also augmentation and diminution to explore.
Emotionally, there's a strong surface playfulness backed up with, in some
versions, a great sense of urgency and tension.  All the versions are
highly enjoyable except for Hewitt; her pacing, accents, and banging away
on the keyboard are not to my liking.  Three versions are outstanding.
Aldwell delivers the strongest urgency without key banging, and Fischer's
rendition has tension abounding from the start; he had me on the edge of my
seat (and I was standing up).  Gould is something else; he's the slowest by
far with a timing of about 3' 30", more than a minute slower than any other
version.  He is so cocky, precise, and musical.  Gould is just mechanical?
Listen to this fugue and you're bound to alter your opinion.

At this point, it's particularly hard to say where Fischer might stand
at the end of the survey.  The sound quality varies greatly from track
to track, and Fischer has some ways about him which are at variance with
today's standards.  But there's never any doubt that he is inside Bach
with a thinking person's conception.

Prelude & Fugue in C sharp minor - Hewitt refers to this prelude as
melancholy music, and she is so right.  All the interpretations are
worthwhile and engaging.  Three are excellent.  Tureck takes over 6 minutes
while all the others are under 5.  Although slow, her pulse is on the music
and interest never wanes.  Schepkin is quick in timing, but it never feels
that way.  He has the full measure of expected emotions.  Hewitt's pacing
is relaxed and smooth; her version is the most melancholy.  Fischer is
outstanding.  He doesn't neglect the melancholy, but he adds a strongly
morose atmosphere with a sinister tinge.  His sound holds up pretty well.

It's time to turn up the volume to experience the cataclysmic upheavals
of the C sharp minor Fugue.  Six versions don't quite convey a cataclysm.
Schiff is much too civilized, Schepkin is urbane, Aldwell exhibits
mannerisms, Fisher isn't good enough to break through some poor sound,
and Nikolayeva comes to an abrupt and jarring halt about half-way through
the fugue that killed it for me.  Jando's problem is one which appears
prevalent for him; he plays well and is on the right conceptual track, but
his technique and artistry don't quite reach the heights displayed by other
versions.  Tureck is excellent but her sound is distracting; during one
softer passage, the sound almost drops off.  Hewitt delivers a cataclysm
that builds up dramatically.  Robert's cataclysm is constant and powerful.
Both Gulda and Gould are very fast and precise; they represent the
"hurtling through time and space" versions.  Although precise, Gulda's
reading also conveys a chaotic quality.  Ultimately, Gould's version is
the best.  His is more detailed than Gulda's, and he displays the highest
level of cataclysm and just the right degree of poetry for this blistering
performance.

Although not holding up too well to the other versions, Roberts is
displaying more "feeling" than I originally thought and his sound is very
good.  Taken by themselves, the performances are certainly rewarding and
enjoyable.

Don Satz
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