Bach: The Art of Fugue - For Orchestra

[gprengel]

After finishing Beethoven's Great Fugue op. 133 for orchestra I felt I should do this also for Bach's "Kunst der Fuge". There are so many forms of renditions of this great work but I usually like to listen to it only by piano (Sokolov or D. Trifonov) or one special recording by string quartet. Here now movements 1 and 10 with my orchestration:

https://www.gerdprengel.de/KunstderFuge_1.mp3

https://www.gerdprengel.de/KunstderFuge_10.mp3

What do you think of it?

[Peter]

Works well Gerd - is it the Emerson quartet version you have?

[gprengel]

Works well Gerd - is it the Emerson quartet version you have?

Yes, the Emerson recording which is just fantastic, especially I adore this movement (and of course the Finale): https://youtu.be/oF7-Y3peIVA
But #10 which I orchestrated here I think they play way too fast - here I was lead by the slow and tender Trifonow piano version: https://youtu.be/TRaYwB6nEI4

[Chris]

Very nice, Gerd! My go-to recording of this piece is Gustav Leonhardt on harpsichord, but I'm always interested to hear new takes, because this piece has so many possibilities for good arrangements.

Here's a clip from the Mozart French miniseries showing Mozart encountering the piece for the first time:

I wonder what that first encounter was really like?

[gprengel]

a beautiful film scene - but it's funny they chose the movement from the Art of Fugue which is the only part of the work which I actually don't like at all ... They should have chosen "Contrapunctus 9" :-)