At 0:57 of Wauchet auf, and again at 2:27, and 3:32, we hear the impossibly tender introduction of a melodic idea, then Bach's reiterations of the events leading to that notion, first as the weeping despair so characteristic of human endeavors, then in the improbable, but humanly inevitable, sound of hope. In these three moments we are served perfection of examples of a device well-known to every great composer, but only matched in Bach by Beethoven and Brahms: the supreme utility of melodic mode, triadic context and harmonic modulation that make tonality the gyri and sulci of music's emotional landscapes, the synergistic propulsion of its expressive powers. Tonality, harmonic development and 12-tone temperament are as the gearing ratios that inform Newton's Laws of Motion, aural emergent phase transitions of human reason as similarly evidenced by "Origin of Species." This is the combination mechanism raising the dry, mathematical exactitude on which music relies beyond a folk tune from hill folk to the deep sublimity of high art. When someone proudly boasts that their favorite pop musician didn't study music, or that many jazz greats could not read music, they are asking, to their uncomprehending embarrassment, "What's a phase transition? What's a gearing ratio? What's art?"
Cziffra is often thought of as a mere technician but he was a superb musician. If you get the chance listen to him playing Bartok 2, the night before the Russians invaded Hungary. It was the first and last time he played it. The playing here is wonderful - so perfectly coloured and rhythmic (In Bach everything is dance).
@@plekkchand it was mostly critics back in his time and when he showed them otherwise the go to comment was that he was a circus act since in his childhood he played with a circus even tho it was only for 2 weeks
Comme quoi, dans "Nun freut euch..", il ne suffit pas de jouer vite comme Horowitz (qui a bien gagné son surnom "d'Horovite") et tant d'autres. Si Cziffra avait voulu il aurait battu Horowitz en vitesse sur ce morceau mais il ne l'a pas fait car c'est un véritable musicien qui a pour Bach le respect et l'humilité que tout musicien devrait avoir pour le Kantor de Leipzig. RIP G.Cziffra !
![Bach-Busoni - 3 Selected Chorale Preludes (Audio+Sheet) [Cziffra]](/img/1.gif)
At 0:57 of Wauchet auf, and again at 2:27, and 3:32, we hear the impossibly tender introduction of a melodic idea, then Bach's reiterations of the events leading to that notion, first as the weeping despair so characteristic of human endeavors, then in the improbable, but humanly inevitable, sound of hope. In these three moments we are served perfection of examples of a device well-known to every great composer, but only matched in Bach by Beethoven and Brahms: the supreme utility of melodic mode, triadic context and harmonic modulation that make tonality the gyri and sulci of music's emotional landscapes, the synergistic propulsion of its expressive powers. Tonality, harmonic development and 12-tone temperament are as the gearing ratios that inform Newton's Laws of Motion, aural emergent phase transitions of human reason as similarly evidenced by "Origin of Species."
This is the combination mechanism raising the dry, mathematical exactitude on which music relies beyond a folk tune from hill folk to the deep sublimity of high art.
When someone proudly boasts that their favorite pop musician didn't study music, or that many jazz greats could not read music, they are asking, to their uncomprehending embarrassment, "What's a phase transition? What's a gearing ratio? What's art?"
Cziffra is often thought of as a mere technician but he was a superb musician. If you get the chance listen to him playing Bartok 2, the night before the Russians invaded Hungary. It was the first and last time he played it. The playing here is wonderful - so perfectly coloured and rhythmic (In Bach everything is dance).
I've never heard anyone talk of him as a "mere technician".
@@plekkchand it was mostly critics back in his time and when he showed them otherwise the go to comment was that he was a circus act since in his childhood he played with a circus even tho it was only for 2 weeks
I'd never heard a recording by him, but was riveted immediately.
So beautiful!
The best!
perfect!!
Comme quoi, dans "Nun freut euch..", il ne suffit pas de jouer vite comme Horowitz (qui a bien gagné son surnom "d'Horovite") et tant d'autres. Si Cziffra avait voulu il aurait battu Horowitz en vitesse sur ce morceau mais il ne l'a pas fait car c'est un véritable musicien qui a pour Bach le respect et l'humilité que tout musicien devrait avoir pour le Kantor de Leipzig.
RIP G.Cziffra !
It`s more than only gorgeous because during his life he was almost entirely chased by so many military personel.
best of the beast