Peter Horvath wrote:

>In have just purchased Roslyn Tureck's performances of the Six Partitas
>released on the Great Pianists of the Century Series.  I have a very
>difficult time understanding why she is considered to be "the high
>priestess of Bach".  To me her playing is boring and pedantic.  Her
>articulation is poor and unclear much of the time.  She plays Bach on
>the piano with an emphasis on her right hand at all times regardless of
>the counterpoint present in the music.  As Glen Gould would say of others,
>she plays the PIANO not Bach.

I bought it, also, few days ago and would like to second Peter Horvath's
opinion.  IMHO, her playing of the partitas alternates between the bizarre
and routine.  She applies rubato widely in the slow movements, but lacks
subtlety and the command of tone, needed to sustain the forward motion.
The rubato is placed all wrong and the dynamic range is exaggerated, - I
often got hit with the sudden stop, or the sound explosion, when least
expected.  The same lack of subtlety and tonal variety makes the faster
movements monotonous and boring.  For those who share this assessment of
the Tureck's partitas, and have not heard Kapell's recording of the 4th
on that awesome RCA set, I suggest the latter as the best antidote to the
former.  BTW, beside the musical component, I find the whole production
of the Philips series sloppy and tasteless.

ML