Search - Bach;Schoenberg;Andrew Rangell :: Andrew Rangell Plays Bach & Schoenberg

Utterly Charming

David M. Comins | Passaic, NJ, USA | 10/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recently discovered the recordings that Andrew Rangell has made of Bach's keyboard pieces. I am utterly charmed by his playing; the adjectives that come to mind are felicity, gracefullness, intellectual and emotional rigor, a touch of whimsy and originiality that combine to make his performances uniquely satisfying. For many years I listened mainly to Gould, but more recently have expanded my cirecle to include Hewitt, Tureck, Perahia, Sheppard, Koroliov, Nikoleyva, Richter, Fellner, Aldwell and others. There is much joy to be gotten from all these master pianists,.... and yet I find myself returning most often to Rangell. I wish a had a word that describes the ineffable quality of his playing. It's almost as though he's approached Bach not out of trepidation of having of having to leave his mark on monumental works works that others have scaled before him, but rather as a delicious treat that has just been newly composed.



I don't have the depth of experience to review each of these suites in technical detail. Suffice it to say that I have never experienced the levels of tenderness, poignancy and exuberance elsewhere as I have with Andrew Rangell's performance. I feel similarly about his recording of the partitas and the WTC, and feel extremely fortunate to have made his acquaintance."