A few weeks ago I saw on Facebook(!) an announcement of a piano recital at the Malaysian Institute of Arts (MIA) with the intriguing title Bach.. in Other Hands.

The MIA was unknown to me and I had never heard about Massimo Folliero, the pianist who was giving the recital. But I love Bach’s music and in this recital it would be Bach in Other Hands, transcriptions of Bach’s music. I know that transcriptions of his works have been made by other composers, not least by himself. Ten years ago I wrote a post about Bach’s Goldberg Variations and in 2017 one about the Chaconne . Both contain links to transcriptions. But the transcriptions in this recital, except the Busoni one of the Chaconne were new to me.

So I contacted MIA, chatted with Mr Neo, the head of the Music Department, and booked a seat for the recital. Donation RM 80. The City campus of MIA is located next to Dang Wangi LRT station. I live not far from Mutiara Damansara MRT, so I used public transport, changing trains in Pasar Seni, it took me less than 45 minutes. I arrived early, so I could choose a front seat with a good view.

And here is Massimo Folliero. Lots of information about him can be found here .

In preparation for the concert, I had assigned myself some homework, listening to the original versions and comparing them with the transcription. Nowadays almost all (classical) music can be found on YouTube. For each composition I have selected an original and a transcription, just click on the picture to watch the YouTube.

1 Siciliano BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach / Wilhelm Kempff.

The slow movement from Bach’s Flute sonata in E-Flat Major, played by Francely Zurita. The transcription is beautifully played by a very young Evgeny Kissin. Here the transcription, played by Wilhelm Kempff himself in 1955. Compare the two versions! A nice, “easy” start of the recital.

2 Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 543 Johann Sebastian Bach / Franz Liszt

Between1842 and 1850 Franz Liszt transcribed six of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues (BWV 543-548) from solo organ to solo piano. Not familiar with Bach’s organ works (except of course the famous Toccata and Fugue BWV 565), it took me some time to appreciate this BWV 543. Left the original, played by Christoph Bull , right the transcription played by Violetta Khachikyan. My favorite, clear and transparent.

3 5 Organ Preludes 1st book Johann Sebastian Bach / Ferruccio Busoni

In 1898 Busoni published 10 Chorale Preludes, BV B 27, transcriptions of various Chorale Preludes by Bach. A Choral Prelude is a (short) introduction for a hymn , sung by the congregation during a church service . Folliero played 5 of them, here is a very popular one, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645. Left Willem van Twillert on organ, right Jan Lisiecki on piano.

Interval

During the interval, I walked around a bit and had a look at the art gallery. At first I thought that the table with glasses and bottles was for us to have a drink, but no, it was a work of art. Note the tiny fish in the bottles and glasses ;-).

4 Sheep May Safely Graze” (BWV 208 No. 9) Johann Sebastian Bach / Egon Petri

The second half of the recital started with another “easy” piece. BWV 208 is known as the Hunting Cantata. written by Bach for vocalists and instrumentalists. The aria, sung here by Ellen McAteer, is for a soprano, two recorders and continuo. The transcription by Egon Petri is played by Benjamin Hochman. Beautiful music, but in this case for me the original wins.

Prelude and Fugue in B minor BWV 548 Johann Sebastian Bach / Franz Liszt

When I studied the recital program on Facebook , it said that after the interval another Prelude and Fugue, BWV 548 would be played. Considered by many as one of Bach’s masterworks for organ. It took me quite some time to get familiar with the complicated, intricate structure of this “two-movement symphony for organ“. Played on organ by Sebastian Heindl. Fascinating to see this young man playing, watch his pedaling. The Liszt transcription is played admirably by Alicia Juan. Transparent and clear.

5 Prelude and Fugue in B minor BWV 544 Johann Sebastian Bach / Franz Liszt

When Folliero started playing it came as a bit of a shock, the musique was not familiar to me. I had a look at the program leaflet, he was playing BWV 544! After the concert I asked him why and he told me that 548 in the Facebook announcement was actually a mistake, it was always the plan to play 544. So, after I came back home, I had some more homework to do and listen to recordings of BWV 544. An “easier” work, compared with 548. Elske te Twillert plays the original on organ and Nenad Radic plays the transcription.

6 Chaconne BWV 1004 Johann Sebastian Bach / Ferruccio Busoni

The recital ended with the Busoni transcription of the famous Chaconne , the final part of Bach’s Partita in D minor for solo violin. As mentioned above, I have written a blog post about the Chaconne and its many transcriptions. Of course there are many recordings available, I have chosen here an old one (1971), as a homage to Jascha Heifetz. And there are also numerous recordings of the Busoni transcription, I have chosen the recording by Hélène Grimaud.

It was a beautiful finale of an interesting concert. The pianist joined the audience after the recital and was willing to have his picture taken. With the students, some of whom he had been teaching in the days before the concert. And with a few seniors 😉

I took a few short recordings of the recital, but the acoustics of the hall are not good enough to share them here. On YouTube I found a video of Folliero , playing in Bangalore. Just to give you an impression.