Bach: Piano Transcriptions, Vol. 8 – Eugen d'Albert
10/27/2023, 15 Tracks, 1:14:06
Featuring
Piers Lane
Johann Sebastian Bach
Did you know?
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Composer Biography
Eugen d'Albert publicly repudiated Britain and its weather in 1884, declaring his allegiance to 'the unique, true, glorious, German art'.
Interpretation
Piers Lane, the pianist on this recording, has an extensive discography for Hyperion, including a Gramophone Award-nominated disc of Eugen d'Albert's solo piano music.
Compositional Technique
Eugen d'Albert's Bach arrangements are generally more 'reticent' and 'less thickly textured' than those of his contemporary Ferruccio Busoni, sometimes showing 'surprising simplicity'.
Composer Biography
Eugen d'Albert, the composer whose Bach transcriptions are featured, was one of the world's most celebrated pianists and a composer of international renown during his lifetime.
Cultural Impact
The Busoni transcriptions of Bach have maintained a much firmer place in the repertoire than d'Albert's, partly because their imposing presence makes them ideal recital openers.
Composer Biography
Eugen d'Albert had six wives, and his personal life was so dramatic it was compared to a 'soap opera'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Eugen d'Albert's goal in transcribing Bach's organ works for piano was to achieve greater clarity, in contrast to Ferruccio Busoni's aim of imitating a large organ in a reverberant cathedral.
