Why do idiots play Bach on the piano?

Question

an instrument he could not have known and did NOT write for

It sounds HORRIBLE please STOP NOW!!!!!

Listen to Glen Gould and Angela Hewitt murdering BACH ..........It's excruciating!!

the Panoforte DID NOT EXIST in Bach's time.....the nearest was an instrument which played soft or very soft

BACH deliberately wrote his keyboard/clavier pieces to be played on an instrument with NO cres/dim ability....this is why he wrote using the texture he did...playing Bach with cres/dim on a piano totally misses the point!

LET's make up history

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ACTUALLY, YOU ARE INCORRECT111

IN 1748 or 9, he visited his youngest son J C Bach in England and had the opportunity to play the new and improved forte-piano. He liked it so much, as compared to the 1715 or so model he played years earlier, that he wrote The Musical Offering, among other pieces.


THAT IS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF KACK I'VE EVER HEARD

IF Bach had visited England that would have been remarkable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bach was NOT an innovator !
he took the tools he had , and perfected them.Handel was the innovator of that period.

Evan Mozart didn't have a decent piano.YES if bach had had apiano he would have written for it, BUT his music would have been substantialy different.!!

Answer 1

Oh yah! I agree totally. Idiots.

Answer 2

If a piano had been available to Bach, would that have changed what he wrote. The fact of the matter is that there were, admittedly primitive pianos around in the latter part of Bach's life, but they were not sufficiently developed until the father of piano music, Emmanuel Bach (his son) championed them. Long and the short of it is that the clavichord, the harpsichord and the other variations in keyboard or clavier design have simply been replaced by a superior instrument. In the same way the Model T Ford was replaced. Their dominance was short lived in the clavier world because of their limitations.
To say that Bach's music played on the piano is horrible is simply a ludicrous statement. It is demeaning to the instrument, the music and it's composer. Nobody makes these kind of statements about Bach's lute suites which are now played almost exclusively on the guitar.
The older clavier designs are hard to come by these days. It is rare to see one outside of concert hall. They are now only used by the historically accurate crowd and as such have their place.
I don't know whether it was your intention to be inflammatory, but in any case I would be more circumspect when your facts are dubious. Bach actually tried a couple of early piano designs, but found fault with them and communicated this to their makers. As such he made a contribution to the development of the clavier.
The theme to the Goldberg Variations is a great example of a beautiful melody that is perfect on the piano. The ability to change the dynamics enhances the piece rather than detracts from it.
Nobody is forcing you to listen to Baroque music on the piano. Pianists are not going to let all that great music go unheard.

Answer 3

Bach transcribed his (and other people's music) for a large variety of instruments. Even though Bach did not like the sound of the early piano, he may well have delighted in the full and even compass of the modern instrument. Therefore playing Bach keyboard works on the piano is acceptable because one imagines he would have made arrangements that fit the instrument, or simply sanctioned the playing of clavier/harpsichord pieces on the piano.

Answer 4

ACTUALLY, YOU ARE INCORRECT111

IN 1748 or 9, he visited his youngest son J C Bach in England and had the opportunity to play the new and improved forte-piano. He liked it so much, as compared to the 1715 or so model he played years earlier, that he wrote The Musical Offering, among other pieces.

As far as why pianist play Bach on modern pianos, well, all that is really different in a major way is foot pedals and a more even sound.

Bach would have been thrilled that the expression possibilities of today's instrument. Gould's renditions of fugues are unique, and although they have received a lot of positive feedback, I found them very uneven.

Answer 5

Piano For Idiots

Answer 6

General response:
This "historically informed performance" issue is largely a waste of time, if you ask me. Where do we draw the line? We'll use the "right" instruments, and try to play them the "right" way, but what about the hall in which we play? Should Bach's cantatas only be performed in church? And, at that, should we demand that the congregation act the same way as they did during Bach's time? (the atmosphere of these services was not as somber as you might expect...)

More specific response:
If you want to play Bach on the piano, play it on the piano. Given the choice between (1) Bach on the "wrong" instrument and (2) no Bach, choice #1 is the right choice.

The fact that Bach was constantly re-writing his music for different purposes (the use of previously used material in his cantatas, the editions for lute (??), and organ of the g minor violin fugue, etc) leads me to believe that Bach himself may have approved of this practice.

I also am very much opposed to the "let's play all baroque music as expressionless as possible" philosophy. That is a viable option, yes, but it's not the only way to play this music.

You'll hate me, because I regularly play Bach (cello, violin, and some keyboard) music on my marimba. And you know what? It's a wonderful sound.

Answer 7

So you would deny me the pleasure of playing Bach because I don't own a harpsichord?

And I really take issue with being called an idiot, simply because I like Bach and only have a piano. How else am I going to play it? Next you'll tell me that I cannot play my beloved Scarlatti on the piano, or the early Mozart and Haydn sonatas......

It only sounds horrible if it's played horribly.

OH -- and study your history -- Bach knew about the piano. The comment from aeroman above is accurate.

To AWOL -- I am sorry to disagree, but yes, you MUST play Bach exactly as written. Do you think you can improve on BACH?? As Wanda Landowska used to say "You play Bach your way, and I'll play it Bach's way".

My teacher always used to tell me"If you play the piece as written, you will have a unique and original interpretation".

Answer 8

Because harpsichords have ludicrously higher price-tags, don't stay in tune long enough, give you no room for expression (dynamics are an unknown concept to harpsichords!) and they don't have pedals which makes it impossible to play later music on it! Pianos are far more versatile, are more affordable, have a pleasanter sound, are familiar with dynamics, can have later music played on it without loss in quality, can be played softly so as not to disturb the neighbours...need I go on?!

This obsession with authentic Baroque performances has gone far too far in my opinion, and has only really taken off in the last few years. Although I agree to a point about playing Bach as he would have heard it, debarring it from pianists is ludicrous! So few people can afford harpsichords, so why limit the output of a wonderful composer to the priviledged few? Bach's compositions are amongst the best for developing technical skill on keyboard instruments so they can benefit pianists just as much as harpschordists.

And Bach didn't even write his pieces for the harpsichord! He wrote them for the keyboard. This was a term used to cover the different instruments that had a piano-like keyboard in those days. Although at large concerts Bach would have expected a harpsichord to be used, at smaller, more intimate concerts he would have expected a virginal or clavichord to be the instrument used. Bach was no stranger to different instruments being used to play his keyboard works, and the virginal and clavichord were the household instruments of choice. He wrote his pieces to be transferrable between these three instruments, so I highly doubt that Bach would object to the piano being used to perform his works. The clavichord, in fact, became the piano after a bit of development from instrument makers. It had the same expressive and dynamic range as the piano, just not enough power to be heard in large concert halls, but certainly enough for drawing room performances. Although the piano uses hammers to strike the strings now instead of metal tangents like in the clavichord, the sound is pretty similar. If Bach heard the modern recordings by Angela Hewitt or Glenn Gould, he would approve of a good quality "clavichord" being used to very great effect by consumate virtuoso artists. He would be happy they were playing his works with authentic ornamentation, balancing the voices and bringing out an expressive third dimension using the dynamic contrast possible on the piano but not on the harpsichord. He would not moan about it sounding horrible, as it clearly doesn't! He'd be fascinated by the development of the clavichord, and glad that his work can be given a third dimension. Bach did know the piano in a way, in the guise of the clavichord.

Idiots don't play Bach on the piano, only people with normal incomes and people who want to interpret Bach in an expressive yet authentic way.

Answer 9

An answer purely of my opinion. (I assume that this is fine, because the question is purely opinion as well.)

I think Bach would have liked our modern piano. The man was a musical revolutionary, and not afraid of progress.

Answer 10

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Answer 11

They probably play Bach compositions in the piano because it sounds better than on the banjo, kazoo and mouth organ, which are surely the true instruments of idiots (as well as guitars and electric guitars of course).