Bach, J S:
Performed by Peter Hill (piano)
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Well-Tempered Clavier in the early 1700’s. More than 300 years later, listeners like me are still delighted by it. I find this music to be soothing, calming, joyful, and exciting. And I feel grateful that I am able to have it envelop me.
Pianist Peter Hill is known for his performances and recordings of 20th-century music, as well as the classical repertoire. His complete cycles of the music of Messiaen and of Alban Berg, Schoenberg and Webern have received strong acclaim.
I was particularly impressed with Peter Hill’s piano touch; and the International Record Review, September 2013, said it best:
“Hill shows a particular sensitivity to the kind of touch required to play this music on the harpsichord… His restraint and intellectual approach throughout renders the performance wholly satisfying…Thank goodness we have Hill’s full account now, however, for it will provide a fantastic resource to delve into as well as many hours of enjoyable listening”
The tone, which Peter Hill elicits from the piano is warm and buttery, and the counterpoint is always clear. His performance is carefully worked out, and I find my ear being pulled from one part to another by his amazing phrasing.
Let me show you some samples:
Here is Peter Hill in Messiaen’s ‘La Colombe’ and a Sightreading Exercise:
And next, here is music by SCHOENBERG: “Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19”, as performed by pianist Peter Hill:
Tags: Pianist, Peter Hill, Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier, Schoenberg, Messiaen
