Leo van Doeselaar plays Bach

Piano arrangements of organ works

The arrangements were made by the piano virtuosos August Stradal and Ferruccio Busoni. They shared an inexhaustible admiration for the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. His harpsichord works could not simply be translated one-on-one to piano at that time: the audience would not have understood the notes, which were brilliant in themselves. A lot of dynamics and a variety of playing methods and pedal instructions had to be added to make the idiom of Bach around 1900 seem familiar to the audience. When playing organ works on the piano, a complete translation had to be made. The extra bass parts for the pedal had the consequence that the footwork had to be incorporated into the already busy two hands. A great challenge for both the arrangers and especially for the performing pianists!