Poland-born US emigrée Wanda Landowska (1879 - 1959) was the first to record Bach’s Goldberg Variations on harpsichord and was a lifelong scholar and performer of Bach’s keyboard works.
England-born Dame Myra Hess’s (1890 - 1965) performances remain peerless for their lucidity and sheer musicality. As a Jewish musician, she played Bach and other German composers in blacked-out venues during the Nazi’s bombardments on London.
US-born Rosalyn Tureck (1913 - 2003), who Glenn Gould called his “only influence”, helps listeners rediscovering Bach in every piece.
Martha Argerich (born 1941) brings Argentine temperament to her forceful but extremely articulated playing, using the piano for what it is: a percussion instrument.
Maria João Pires (born 1944), perhaps better known for her Mozart, Schubert and Chopin, brings a peerless sensibility and depth of sound to her Bach and continues to give masterclasses in her retirement.
Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt (born 1958) creates a unique sound in her Bach world, playing with extreme integrity.
Are yesterday’s musicians and composers today’s coders?
