The Well Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2:
CD 1:
Tracks 1. – 24. Book 1, Part 1 (45:44)
CD 2:
Tracks 1. – 24. Book 1, Part 2 (53:39)
CD 3:
Tracks 1. – 24. Book 2, Part 1 (53:33)
CD 4:
Tracks 1. – 24. Book 2, Part 2 (67:04)

South African-born, London-based pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar is a completist. He has surveyed, both on the concert platform and in the recording studio, Mozart’s Complete Sonatas (AV 2209), Chopin’s Complete Waltzes, Schubert’s Complete Sonatas, and the complete keyboard works by Orlando Gibbons. For AVIE he has also scaled the heights of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations (AV 2260) and Bach’s Goldberg Variations (AV 2235). The Royal Academy of Music professor now adds Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier to the list, enhancing a growing discography that has earned him plaudits from around the world.

critical acclaim for Daniel-Ben Pienaar

“an account that is unencumbered by convention or tradition, one that assailed and piqued the senses. Like the late Glenn Gould before him, Pienaar was determined to make the listener hear with different ears. And it worked, largely because he is a sensitive soul allied with the keenest sense of imagination … the set was delivered as a breezy whole that kept one riveted throughout. The contrapuntal playing was projected with utter clarity.” – The Straits Times (Singapore), on a concert performance of The Well-Tempered Clavier

“The work has a reputation for difficulty both from the performer's and listener's point of view but the young South African makes light of its technical rigours and springs plenty of interpretative surprises.” – The Sunday Times (London) Classical CD of the Week on Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations (AV 2260)

“This new recording is indispensable for anyone who loves the work.” – BBC Music Magazine on Bach’s Goldberg Variations (AV 2235)

“Interpretations where, within the letter critically observed, a numinous power breaks free. Momentous Mozart.”

– Gramophone Editor’s Choice, on Mozart The Piano Sonatas (AV 2209)

summary

Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar adds J. S. Bach’s complete Well Tempered Clavier to a growing, critically acclaimed discography that includes Mozart’s Piano Sonatas, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and Bach’s Goldberg Variations.