Search - Bach, Weissenberg :: Italian Concerto / Partitas 4 & 6

Tempo gone crazy

Eduard Hanslick | Ann Arbor, MI | 08/02/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"If this is the same Weissenberg version of the Italian Concerto I heard on the radio the other day, I must say it is an unconscionable performance. Weissenberg is a highly respected pianist in many genres. What got into him here, I don't know. The beauties of Bach can only be appreciated by a listener to this performance if he knows the piece well and can complement what he actually hears with what he remembers from past hearings. I heard mostly the third movement. To say "I heard it" is an exaggeration; I noticed it, whoosh, racing past me. Someone who hears this for the first time will not realize what this composition contains. He will, however, appreciate having gotten through it quickly."