When I learned to play Bach, I was taught not to use the pedal at all, so Angela Hewitt's style sounds like it would appeal to me. Thanks, folks!

I have to add one more comment. I've been enjoying learning a couple of pieces by Alcock ( I think first name is john) . Right now i'm playing a Sarabande in E minor that's very nice, and i'm starting a minuet, in A major. i find his music light in texture, and almost delicate, with lots of practice for trills! If anyone has any info about him, i'd love to hear it.

Uh, which Angela Hewitt CD's should I get, & where? Also, has anyone ever ordered from Berkshire Record Outlet? In their ad, they claim to have "over 13,000 factory-fresh classical titles at below wholesale prices... available 24 hours a day." www.broinc.com

I'm sitting here reading the International Piano Quarterly(just came in the mail yesterday), which has a review of CD recordings of Bach's WTC Book I. The review of Hewitt's recording is not too favorable: "Two specialists not yet mentioned are Edward Aldwell & Angela Hewitt... Angela Hewitt's Book I is unfortunately something of a let-down when compared to her other Bach recordings. Her sound is as ravishing as ever, & her control is unquestionable, but there is a distressing lack of intensity & tension throughout the cycle."

In this review, 48 piano recordings were blindly auditioned; 8 of these recordings are recommended: "Edwin Fischer's for its serene poetry; Sergey Schepkin's for its vibrancy & creativity; Sviatoslav Richter's studio recording for its grand-scale & immaculate pianism; Tatiana Nikolaeva's second recording for its beauty & sensitivity; Samuel Feinberg's for its individuality & Romantic impulse; Robert-Alexander Bohnke's for its commanding musicianship & communicativeness; &, finally, both of Jorg Demus's recordings (particularly the second one) for being the most consistently satisfying of all."

[This message has been edited by Jalapeno (edited 15 February 2001).]

Jalapeno, I have Hewitt's WTC bk. 1 in the CD player right now ( my wonderful public library stocks a huge number of classical and jazz cd's) and i won't comment on the criticisms you mentioned, but i'l mention one of my own: the recording level is very low. The playing is wonderful, but the recording level is so low ( esp on prelude #1 in C!) that i have to turn my volume almost to the max to hear it properly,and that's a pet peeve of mine. i like a "hot" recording level. Check out the Hyperion website for Hewitt's recordings. My favourite hewitt recording is her debut ( all Bach) on Deutche Grammophone, in the early 80's.

Thanks, Dan. I agree with you about low-volume recordings. Regarding the above-mentioned review, I don't take it as "gospel." I just thought that Piano Club members would like to read it, so I posted it. Besides, it's possible that the person doing the review had high expectations (notice what he said about Hewitt's earlier Bach recordings) that couldn't possibly be met.

I was able to order some Bach CDs by Angela Hewitt from http://www.Borders.com Thanks for the recommendations, folks.

Jason, I wish I hadn't subscribed to the IPQ 'cuz the issue I just received has a lot of recordings listed that are now on my wish list. Oh, to have enough $$ to buy all the ones I want (sigh)!

Does anyone know where I can get some well-done, overedited editions of baroque music? I'd like to have some to use for reference, since I'm not overly comfortable with the baroque style. I'd also like to know if it's okay to use pedal (judiciously, of course) in baroque music. It just makes more sense to me to use the pedal, when necessary, to make the music sound good, rather than try to play the piano as if it's an organ or harpsichord.

Katrina: If you haven't tried them yet, the FJH Developing Artist books (edited by the Fabers) are great. Also, you might try the Bastien Piano Lit. books, or the printable CD Sheetmusic CDs now being sold by Theodore Presser. I just bought the CDs; the pieces are not urtext, but rather are editions by Peters, Schirmer, et al. that have copyright dates prior to 1923; they're now public domain, so you can print out as many as you wish as long as you don't sell or rent them or take the CD Sheetmusic logo off the music. I was noticing that some of the music has the ornamentation printed out in the score, rather than the present method of just having the sign with either the ornamentation noted above the score, footnoted or whatever. Anyway, this collection might be valuable for reference. For only $14.95 per CD, it's worth it.

Regarding pedalling, I noticed that the Fabers put pedal marks in some of the baroque music in the Developing Artist books, so I guess it's okay. Hope this helps.



[This message has been edited by Jalapeno (edited 26 February 2001).]

Jalapeno: Would you be nice enough to tell me some of the names of the FJS DEVELOPING ARTIST BOOKS that are devoted to Baroque music? I will really appreciate it. Also, where does EVERYONE get their copies of FJH catalogs? I NEED ONE!

Joy123,

For a FJH catalog simply call or write FJH for a complimentary copy -- info at http://www.fjhmusic.com/contact.htm

For a list of available books in the Developing Artist Library -- see http://www.pianoteaching.com/devel.htm Jalapeno may have the list of pieces in each book already in Word and be able to share those.