The Saarbrücken recordings are considered live recitals, as Walter Gieseking knew in advance that the takes would not be redone or spliced.
Performer Biography
Walter Gieseking, the French-born German pianist, gave around 25 recitals at Radio Saarbrücken between 1949 and 1951, which are of paramount importance to his recorded legacy.
Performer Biography
Walter Gieseking knew and played most of Bach's keyboard works from his youth, even before his formal studies at the Hanover Conservatory.
Critical Reception
Early in his career, in 1923, a Berlin newspaper called Walter Gieseking's Bach performances 'revolutionary' and praised his 'high artistry'.
Interpretation
Walter Gieseking, the pianist on this album, preferred playing Bach on a modern piano, stating that the 'chirring and rattling' of harpsichords and clavichords did not bring him musical pleasure.
Interpretation
Walter Gieseking, the pianist, considered textual alterations like octave doublings in Bach's bass parts to be 'a falsification' and condemned any perceptible use of the damper pedal.
Recording & Production
As part of the 1950 bicentennial celebrations for Bach, Radio Saarbrücken had Walter Gieseking record a large portion of Bach's solo keyboard works in only seven or eight sessions.
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