Pianist Series: Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Pierre-Laurent Aimard is synonymous with contemporary music. The French master pianist is among the world's leading performers of works still unwritten. He has collaborated closely with many modern composers, from Messiaen to Ligeti and Kurtág. Aimard's appreciation for the older masters is undeniable. Bach plays a prominent role in his discography, with a recording of The Art of Fugue and the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier . This concert features Book II live.

Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II

"The Well-Tuned Keyboard"—this slightly provocative title Bach gave to two collections in which he reviewed all the keys, both minor and major. He wrote them to demonstrate the practicality of a different tuning method. The earlier tuning used natural tones, which were only suitable for one key. In "well-tempered" tuning, the distance between two notes is mathematically the same everywhere, allowing all keys to be played without the instrument to tune. Bach wouldn't be Bach if he hadn't provided this proof in 24 masterpieces…