This brings us to Book II which is an even greater achievement than
Feinberg's Book I.  Here are some highlights pro and con:

Prelude & Fugue in C major - A stunning prelude starting with magical
descending chromatic lines followed by a powerful and fast fugue.  Feinberg
conveys as much emotional depth as Tureck with a strong element of
determination compared to Tureck's nobility.  Both versions are excellent,
but I prefer Feinberg for his momentum.  The C major Fugue is problematic
as Feinberg is done in by poor sound which often seems to place him in a
distant hangar; this was a frustrating listening experience.

Prelude & Fugue in C sharp major - The Prelude is in the form of a lovely
Adagio followed by a strong Allegro.  Feinberg's Adagio is quick and loaded
with urgency; his Allegro is certainly strong but perhaps a little hectic.
The Fugue is relatively fast, highly poetic, and charged with energy.

Prelude & Fugue in C sharp minor - Feinberg hits the Prelude's melancholy
button perfectly.  He's perpetual motion in the Fugue, although I would
have liked a little more drama in the reading.

Prelude & Fugue in E flat major - The Prelude's seamless, delicate, and
joyful nature is fully captured by Feinberg; the accenting is stunning.
Optimism reigns supreme in Feinberg's Fugue.

Prelude & Fugue in E major - Joyful and uplifting, the Prelude displays
great subtlety of emotion which Feinberg brings to center-stage with a
lovely and delicate approach.  He is noble and quietly assertive in the
Fugue.

Prelude & Fugue in F major - Feinberg is irresistably poignant in the
Prelude.  The Fugue is a fast gigue which I think works best with a
confident swagger; Feinberg is so fast that any sense of swagger is largely
non-existent.

Prelude in F minor - The Prelude has a wide palate of colors and emotions;
no recorded performance examines this breadth as effectively as Feinberg
who alternates high speed with thought-provoking slower passages.

Prelude & Fugue in F sharp major - Feinberg's Prelude is quite spacious
and varied in dynamics, easily the equal of Tureck.  The Fugue is a fine
example of how much detail and variety Bach can deliver within a tight
framework, this one in the form of a gavotte.  Feinberg's fast tempo works
beautifully here in an exciting and highly nuanced reading.

Prelude & Fugue in F sharp minor - Feinberg creates a sad world with a
pervasive bleakness; there's no better version.  The Fugue is brighter and
more varied in mood than its partner.  Again, Feinberg is superb and highly
diverse.  With both F sharp minor pieces, he displays a total immersion and
command of the music; it sounds as if he wrote the music.

Prelude & Fugue in A flat major - I think of the prelude as expressing how
wonderful life can be.  The music is immediately uplifting and stays that
way; reflection is another element that strongly impacts me.  I couldn't
ask for better than Feinberg; the diversity of expression and the beauty he
conveys is complete.  These same qualities permeate his interpretation of
the Fugue as well.

Fugue in G sharp minor - This is one of my favorite Bach pieces of music.
I think it's just perfect for the 'Apocalypse Aftermath'.  Right from the
start, the music is bleak and eerie.  Momentum increases in the first half
of the Fugue, and the second half conclusively puts an end to any semblance
of life as we knew it.  Moments of hope are fleeting and stamped out by a
seamless and inevitable crushing of life's juices.  This probably sounds
quite extreme, but I always get these feelings while listening to the
piece.  Feinberg is exceptional, although I could have handled a little
more strength in delivery.

Prelude in A minor - The Prelude is a two-part invention which is highly
chromatic and loaded with the swapping of themes between voices; this
creates a bizarre quality which seems to suspend the laws of nature.
Feinberg fully brings all this out into total view.

Prelude & Fugue in B flat minor - A grave beauty with some gorgeous
uplifting passages constitutes my affection for the Prelude.  Feinberg
gives a role-model performance which misses none of the nuances.  His Fugue
has an infectious swagger with the mood often quite eerie and ominous.

Overall, I find Feinberg's Book II even more rewarding than his Book I.
The music has greater complexity and variety, and Feinberg revels in these
qualities.

Don's Recommendation:  Excepting for Tureck's masterful set, Feinberg
would be a fine first choice for a piano version of the WTC.  There are
a few tracks where the sound is quite an obstacle to enjoyment, but the
general quality of sound is more than passable.  Fast tempos can be a
little problematic for Feinberg, although I didn't notice much of that in
Book II at all.  In previous reviews of WTC sets, I highly recommended the
piano versions from Gould and Gulda; Feinberg's is in this league and also
is very different from those two.  He's much more expansive and diverse;
on the negative side, he does not convey the strong inevitability nor
pin-point precision of either Gould or Gulda.  Buyers on a limited budget
could consider themselves excellently stocked if they had Tureck, Gould,
Gulda, and Feinberg.  Folks with more money to burn might also consider
adding Aldwell, Fischer, Schiff, and Schepkin to their library.

Don Satz
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