5 ms·

> It’s unfashionable these days to play Bach on the piano. According to who? I've played Bach to all sorts of different people, and all have appreciated it and

> It’s unfashionable these days to play Bach on the piano. According to who? I've played Bach to all sorts of different people, and all have appreciated it and enjoyed it. Sure, they might not listen to it in the car on the way to work (like I might) but that doesn't mean it is "unfashionable" to treat somebody to a live performance of a technically challenging piece by a master composer.

libraryofbabel 6y ago
I think what’s meant is that playing Bach on an “authentic” period instrument (harpsichord, organ, etc.) is more the fashion. Bach didn’t write for the modern piano, although his music sounds pretty good on it.
- mastazi 6y ago
  Bach wrote for “Klavier” which is a generic definition that may or may not include the piano. We know that early in his life he hated pianos, but later on he changed his mind and even started selling them (he worked as an agent for a piano maker). So, at least for his later works, we could argue that indeed he did write for piano.
  - libraryofbabel 6y ago
    > “didn’t write for the modern piano” I think we actually agree :)
antognini 6y ago
I think the point the author is not that "It's unfashionable these days to play Bach". They are saying that "It's unfashionable these days to play Bach on the piano." The modern fashion is to play Bach on a period-appropriate instrument like a harpsichord or clavichord. The piano wasn't invented until much later so it is anachronistic to play Bach on a piano. But the disadvantage of Bach on period-appropriate instruments is that the modern piano is really quite an incredible instrument with a much better ability to produce subtle changes in dynamics. So what you gain in historical authenticity you may lose in emotional expression.
- mastazi 6y ago
  I think you are getting confused between the piano in general, which existed already, and the piano in its contemporary form, which was developed later. Bach had a side job that consisted in selling pianos to rich people. > Even more damning against the “Bach hated pianos” claim is the fact that Bach went on to become an agent for Silbermann, selling his pianos in Leipzig. There’s even a receipt signed by Bach on May 9, 1749, selling a “Piano et Forte” to a Polish count, Jan Casimir von Branitzky. Source https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2016/07/did-bach-hate-pianos.html https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2016/07/di...
  - antognini 6y ago
    It's true that the predecessor of the modern piano existed during Bach's time (and that Bach helped to sell a few). But I would argue that it was more of a curiosity at the time. It certainly was nowhere as widespread as the harpsichord or clavichord. At any rate the pianoforte of Bach's day sounded very different from the modern piano, so playing Bach on a modern piano is still an anachronism. (Whether that's a problem is a separate issue.)
ctchocula 6y ago
Bach is definitely unfashionable. Compared to Bach written for other instruments (Chaconne for violin or Cello Suites for cello), his solo keyboard works---Two- and Three-part Inventions or his WTC fugues---have a reputation for being polyphonal rather than emotionally moving, because piano is uniquely positioned as the instrument that allows an individual performer to exhibit counterpoint. Compared to other composers such as Chopin or Debussy, the difference in emotional response is stark. Unless they are trained in music, the average listener has listened to monophonic music their entire life and isn't capable of appreciating the nuances of polyphonic music, so it takes a talented pianist to make Bach's music leave an impression on the listener. Absent the appeal to emotion, one must appeal to the listener at an intellectual level. I've heard the Two- and Three-Part Inventions referred to as music that would appeal to a music professor, which is not exactly drawing room fare. These two factors: (1) monophonic style used in pop music, and (2) Bach's solo keyboard works being predominantly contrapuntal rather than emotionally moving compared to his other solo instrumental work might give Bach for solo keyboard (amongst casual music audiences) a reputation for being "boring" and "unfashionable" (which I think is completely undeserved). Exceptions of course exist such as WTC preludes, which might appeal more to an untrained listener. For example, Prelude 8 from Book 1 WTC (one of my favourites): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFTvjRpaU38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFTvjRpaU38 Funny anecdote: Freeman Dyson wrote an excellent essay about Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb, playing this piece. It's included in his collection of essays, Disturbing the Universe, which I'd highly recommend.

libraryofbabel 6y ago

I think what’s meant is that playing Bach on an “authentic” period instrument (harpsichord, organ, etc.) is more the fashion. Bach didn’t write for the modern piano, although his music sounds pretty good on it.

mastazi 6y ago
Bach wrote for “Klavier” which is a generic definition that may or may not include the piano. We know that early in his life he hated pianos, but later on he changed his mind and even started selling them (he worked as an agent for a piano maker). So, at least for his later works, we could argue that indeed he did write for piano.
- libraryofbabel 6y ago
  > “didn’t write for the modern piano” I think we actually agree :)

antognini 6y ago

I think the point the author is not that "It's unfashionable these days to play Bach". They are saying that "It's unfashionable these days to play Bach on the piano." The modern fashion is to play Bach on a period-appropriate instrument like a harpsichord or clavichord. The piano wasn't invented until much later so it is anachronistic to play Bach on a piano. But the disadvantage of Bach on period-appropriate instruments is that the modern piano is really quite an incredible instrument with a much better ability to produce subtle changes in dynamics. So what you gain in historical authenticity you may lose in emotional expression.

mastazi 6y ago
I think you are getting confused between the piano in general, which existed already, and the piano in its contemporary form, which was developed later. Bach had a side job that consisted in selling pianos to rich people. > Even more damning against the “Bach hated pianos” claim is the fact that Bach went on to become an agent for Silbermann, selling his pianos in Leipzig. There’s even a receipt signed by Bach on May 9, 1749, selling a “Piano et Forte” to a Polish count, Jan Casimir von Branitzky. Source https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2016/07/did-bach-hate-pianos.html https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2016/07/di...
- antognini 6y ago
  It's true that the predecessor of the modern piano existed during Bach's time (and that Bach helped to sell a few). But I would argue that it was more of a curiosity at the time. It certainly was nowhere as widespread as the harpsichord or clavichord. At any rate the pianoforte of Bach's day sounded very different from the modern piano, so playing Bach on a modern piano is still an anachronism. (Whether that's a problem is a separate issue.)

ctchocula 6y ago

Bach is definitely unfashionable. Compared to Bach written for other instruments (Chaconne for violin or Cello Suites for cello), his solo keyboard works---Two- and Three-part Inventions or his WTC fugues---have a reputation for being polyphonal rather than emotionally moving, because piano is uniquely positioned as the instrument that allows an individual performer to exhibit counterpoint. Compared to other composers such as Chopin or Debussy, the difference in emotional response is stark. Unless they are trained in music, the average listener has listened to monophonic music their entire life and isn't capable of appreciating the nuances of polyphonic music, so it takes a talented pianist to make Bach's music leave an impression on the listener. Absent the appeal to emotion, one must appeal to the listener at an intellectual level. I've heard the Two- and Three-Part Inventions referred to as music that would appeal to a music professor, which is not exactly drawing room fare. These two factors: (1) monophonic style used in pop music, and (2) Bach's solo keyboard works being predominantly contrapuntal rather than emotionally moving compared to his other solo instrumental work might give Bach for solo keyboard (amongst casual music audiences) a reputation for being "boring" and "unfashionable" (which I think is completely undeserved). Exceptions of course exist such as WTC preludes, which might appeal more to an untrained listener. For example, Prelude 8 from Book 1 WTC (one of my favourites): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFTvjRpaU38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFTvjRpaU38 Funny anecdote: Freeman Dyson wrote an excellent essay about Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb, playing this piece. It's included in his collection of essays, Disturbing the Universe, which I'd highly recommend.