THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER I

The Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier have accompanied the pianist throughout her life, as she has played them repeatedly. However, engaging with them so intensively is something entirely different. In particular, the question arises in connection with baroque performance practice: How can this be implemented on a modern instrument? Alexandra Sostmann was clear that she did not want to approach her concept romantically, as she has always been disturbed by certain romanticizations. Although Bach himself demands a “cantabile playing” in the preface to his Inventions and Sinfonias, this formulation has often been misinterpreted, in the pianist’s view. Bach’s students were to achieve a “cantabile manner of playing,” meaning they should strive for a “way of making music that resembles a duo or trio of human voices, each of which should be articulated and expressed in a well-defined manner.” According to her, this is where the challenges begin: articulating, phrasing, and shaping all 48 pieces of the first volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier individually is a significant challenge. Alexandra Sostmann states, “Then you can suddenly understand Glenn Gould, who said he would only record Handel on the harpsichord because it requires so much more work on the piano. Yes – I really experienced this regarding Bach’s WTC.”

The artist has prepared intensively for her project, consulting and engaging with experts in early music, particularly on performance-related questions. However, content-related aspects have also occupied her thoughts and had a significant influence on her interpretation. The artist shares, “Professor Grigory Gruzman made accessible to me a dissertation by Ukrainian musicologist Boleslaw Javorskyj, which unfortunately has no translation to this day. Javorskyj draws parallels between the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Passions, cantatas, and the B minor Mass, which is incredibly stimulating. For example, he connects the Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor with the Golgotha section of the St. Matthew Passion, where the people drive Jesus to Golgotha. This fits well with the relentless sixteenth-note chains, and when one considers how they whip him, one can absolutely imagine it. The Fugue, with its chromaticism and sighing descending counterpoint, clearly has a character of Passion. All of this has helped me greatly in playing and working on the pieces.”