Angela Hewitt’s Bach Performance on the Piano

When I first learned to play the piano in my childhood, I disliked practicing the music of J. S. Bach because my piano teacher often criticized that I didn’t play the pieces in the right fashion of staccato.

So, it’s a relief for me to hear from Angela Hewitt that it isn’t quite necessary to disconnect all the notes in an abrupt manner in order to phrase the singing melody of the Bach pieces.

What I truly enjoy about this DVD set Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano is that Angel Hewitt uses various examples to introduce the music of Bach to her audience.

There are altogether two discs in this DVD set:

• DVD One covers a two-hour lecture.
• DVD Two is a recital that includes
  • Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV828 (33 minutes 7 seconds),
  • Italian Concerto in F major, BWV971 (13 minutes 38 seconds) and
  • Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV903 (13 minutes and 2 seconds).

Without getting into too many technical details in her lecture, Hewitt manages to capture the essentials (such as learning a fugue, pedalling, interpreting rhythmic alterations and adding ornaments) while taking her time to invite her audience to appreciate the music of Bach. As an educator, Hewitt also advises how important it is to learn each piece by heart as well as not to overlook the basics such as denoting the appropriate fingering on the music scores and taking the time to warm up before playing each piece at its suggested pace.

If you would like to gain insights onto appreciating the music of J. S. Bach, this DVD set Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano would be a very good complement to your library. I believe this DVD set would also be a wonderful gift for those who are currently learning to play the music of Bach.

To learn more on this product, please visit the Hyperion Records web site.