All of these Bach recordings featuring the late Gustav Leonhardt date from the 1960s and ’70s, excepting a 1988 recital of organ works, and haven’t been easily obtainable in the U.S. for some time. For this reason alone collectors will welcome Sony’s 10-disc budget line, original jacket Leonhardt Bach edition. More importantly, the straightforward musicianship and expressive economy typifying Leonhardt’s keyboard artistry proves rather refreshing when measured against his younger contemporaries whose stylistic conceits usually amount to mannered arrhythmia.
There are some real treasures here. The Bach Violin Sonatas with Sigiswald Kuijken stand out for their genuine musicality, resplendent sonics, rhythmic verve, and effortless ensemble synchronicity. Although one may regret that Leonhardt’s Art of Fugue omits the final, unfinished Contrapunctus, his imaginative yet tasteful registrations and subtle legato finger-work remain impressive, as do the clearly unfolding Well-Tempered Clavier Preludes and Fugues, the great D minor organ Toccata BWV 913, and a bracing 1965 Italian Concerto.
Only the 1975 Goldberg Variations disappoints. It’s rhythmically freer in certain variations in comparison with the harpsichordist’s earlier mono Vanguard and stereo Telefunken versions (Leonhardt avoids repeats in all three recordings, by the way), but it’s also stiffer and less fluid—the square-toed Variation 23, Variation 26’s awkwardly dispatched embellishments and plodding articulation, and Variation 1’s self-consciously elongated downbeats. Still, nine out of 10 discs are keepers, and given Sony’s bargain price, Bach lovers and Leonhardt fans shouldn’t complain—I certainly wouldn’t! Recommended.
