Bach: Transcriptions

1	Toccata and Fugue in D mi
2	Toccata and Fugue in D mi
3	Arrangement: J.S. Bach's
4	Arrangement: J.S. Bach's
5	Fuga (Ricercata) a 6 voci
6	Transcription for orchest
7	Transcription for orchest
8	Little Fugue in G minor,
9	Suite aus den Orchestrawe
10	Suite aus den Orchestrawe
11	Suite aus den Orchestrawe
12	Suite aus den Orchestrawe
13	Suite aus den Orchestrawe
14	Suite aus den Orchestrawe
Bach: Transcriptions
1.	Bach's Toccata and fugue in D minor (BWV 565), transcribed for orchestra 10:07
	Composed by Leopold Stokowski
	Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
	Performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group
2.	Arrangement: J.S. Bach's Fantasia & Fugue in C minor (BWV 537), for orchestra, Op. 86 9:09
	Composed by Edward Elgar
	Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
	Performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group
3.	Fuga (Ricercata) a 6 voci for orchestra (arr. from Bach's Musical Offering) 8:38
	Composed by Anton Webern
	Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
	Performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group
4.	Transcription for orchestra of Bach's Prelude & Fugue in E flat major 15:24
	Composed by Arnold Schoenberg
	Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
	Performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group
5.	Bach's "Little" fugue in G minor (BWV 578), transcribed for orchestra 3:57
	Composed by Leopold Stokowski
	Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
	Performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group
6.	Suite aus den Orchestrawerken, for orchestra, harpsichord & organ (after J.S. Bach) 20:20
	Composed by Gustav Mahler
	Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
	Performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group

Barnes & Noble

The six transcriptions on this fascinating program tell us more about the arrangers than about old Bach himself. Listening to Leopold Stokowski's versions of the "Little" G Minor Fugue (BWV 578) and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565) -- both famous organ works -- one might be able to guess that the great conductor started his career as an organist. His transcriptions are painted in broad strokes that evoke the resonant, righteous sound of the king of instruments. Sir Edward Elgar also had experience as an organist, but his transcription of the Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor (BWV 537) reveals the sure, fine hand of a composer, adorning Bach's stark work with sweeping scales on the harp, crashing percussion, and a glittering display of instrumental tone color. Arnold Schoenberg takes a similar approach in his kaleidoscopic arrangement of the massive "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue. Those familiar with Anton Webern's spare, pointillist compositions won't be surprised to find his version of the Second Ricercar from Bach's Musical Offering exhibits similar stylistic characteristics. The surprise here comes with Gustav Mahler's rendering of selections from the Second and Third Orchestral Suites, which are far closer to the original scores than one might imagine. Esa-Pekka Salonen draws opulent sounds from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, reveling with special delight in the lush transcriptions by Elgar and Schoenberg. He might have taken a more wildly romantic view of Mahler's arrangement -- Mahler himself surely would have -- but if this elegant performance takes us closer to Bach himself, that's perhaps exactly as it should be. Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

"Cranked-up," "Rock 'n' Roll," "thick shag of strings": these are just a few of the unlikely descriptions used by the writer of the liner notes for his release in a useless attempt to justify the ways of transcription to man. But no justification is possible or even necessary. To the purist, a transcription is an abomination in the ears of God and man, and any transcription is a mortal sin against the art of Bach. But that hardly matters since this disc is clearly not for purists; it's for music lovers who want to rock with Bach. And this disc does rock, loud and hard. After some fairly snoozy years under the aging André Previn, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under music director Esa-Pekka Salonen has become one of the great virtuoso orchestras in the country, fully capable of playing Mahler, Stravinsky, Messiaen or even Bach transcriptions with fire and precision.

As you might expect, the disc starts with the most (in)famous Bach transcription of all time: the Stokowski "Toccata and Fugue in D minor." Apparently, to Stokowski, Bach was a chubby German burgher with a penchant for flashy clothes and cheap jewelry: his transcription of the Toccata is overdressed, fat, and slow. Salonen gives the devil his due and grants Stokowski all the ponderous weight the LAPO can summon. He even goes so far as to slow down at the stretto just before the climax of the fugue. One imagines that Stokowski would have loved it. Amazingly enough, the rest of the disc isn't anticlimatic. The Elgar "C minor Fantasy and Fugue" is a moving example of Elgarian Nobilmente at its best. The Schoenberg "St. Anne Prelude and Fugue" is boisterous good fun. And the Mahler Suite is an infectious confection.

On its own terms, this disc is highly recommended. James Leonard