C.P.E. Bach: The Solo Keyboard Music Vol. 41: Keyboard Transcriptions II Miklós Spányi

• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788): Symphony in C Major, Wq. 174 (H. 649) [Arr. for Keyboard]:
• 1Bach: Symphony in C Major, Wq. 174 (H. 649) [Arr. for Keyboard]: I. Allegro assai04:08
• 2Bach: Symphony in C Major, Wq. 174 (H. 649) [Arr. for Keyboard]: II. Andante03:31
• 3Bach: Symphony in C Major, Wq. 174 (H. 649) [Arr. for Keyboard]: III. Allegro03:17
• Allegro ma non troppo in E-Flat Major, Wq. 116/52 (H. 326):
• 4Bach: Allegro ma non troppo in E-Flat Major, Wq. 116/52 (H. 326)03:48
• Polonoise in E-Flat Major, Wq. 116/44 (H. 318):
• 5Bach: Polonoise in E-Flat Major, Wq. 116/44 (H. 318)01:22
• March in F Major, Wq. 116/45 (H. 319):
• 6Bach: March in F Major, Wq. 116/45 (H. 319)01:56
• Menuet in G Major, Wq. 116/48 (H. 322):
• 7Bach: Menuet in G Major, Wq. 116/48 (H. 322)01:06
• 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 2 in D Major (H. 472) [Arr. for Solo Keyboard]:
• 8Bach: 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 2 in D Major (H. 472) [Arr. for Solo Keyboard]: I. Allegro di molto09:29
• 9Bach: 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 2 in D Major (H. 472) [Arr. for Solo Keyboard]: II. Andante05:13
• 10Bach: 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 2 in D Major (H. 472) [Arr. for Solo Keyboard]: III. Allegretto09:50
• Allegro in E Major, Wq. 116/37 (H. 311):
• 11Bach: Allegro in E Major, Wq. 116/37 (H. 311)02:29
• Menuet in F Major, Wq. 116/32 (H. 306):
• 12Bach: Menuet in F Major, Wq. 116/32 (H. 306)03:01
• 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 3 in E-Flat Major (H. 473) [Arranged for Solo Keyboard] :
• 13Bach: 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 3 in E-Flat Major (H. 473) [Arranged for Solo Keyboard] : I. Allegro08:09
• 14Bach: 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 3 in E-Flat Major (H. 473) [Arranged for Solo Keyboard]: II. Larghetto03:33
• 15Bach: 6 Harpsichord Concertos, Wq. 43: No. 3 in E-Flat Major (H. 473) [Arranged for Solo Keyboard]: III. Presto05:26
• Menuet in G Major, Wq. 116/30 (H. 304):
• 16Bach: Menuet in G Major, Wq. 116/30 (H. 304)02:44
• Symphony in E-Flat Major, Wq 179 (H. 654) [Arr. for Keyboard]:
• 17Bach: Symphony in E-Flat Major, Wq 179 (H. 654) [Arr. for Keyboard]: I. Prestissimo04:54
• 18Bach: Symphony in E-Flat Major, Wq 179 (H. 654) [Arr. for Keyboard]: II. Larghetto03:41
• 19Bach: Symphony in E-Flat Major, Wq 179 (H. 654) [Arr. for Keyboard]: III. Presto05:18
• Total Runtime01:22:55

Info for C.P.E. Bach: The Solo Keyboard Music Vol. 41: Keyboard Transcriptions II

This album features solo keyboard arrangements of works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach originally scored for other instruments. In the second half of the eighteenth century the demand for keyboard music increased rapidly, as musical skills became a social requisite for young ladies of the upper classes. Providing compositions for these new keyboard players was financially profitable, but Bach also had another reason for welcoming arrangements: keyboard instruments were his favourite medium.

The seven short pieces on this well-filled disc all exist in versions for various small groups of instruments or, in some cases, for mechanical instruments. In his comments, Miklós Spányi suggests that they could in fact be the original versions, perhaps written down in keyboard notation as drafts for further versions, and later arranged by Bach on for various ensembles. Spányi has grouped these short pieces around four larger-scale works, of which two are arrangements of symphonies, probably not arranged by or for the composer himself. The solo keyboard arrangements of the two concertos, made by Bach himself and easier to play than the original concertos, were intended for amateurs. On this disc, Spányi uses an extremely versatile and colourful tangent piano, a very popular instrument in the second half of the 18th century. This particular instrument was built in 1998, after a model from 1799.

Miklós Spányi, tangent piano

Miklós Spányi
was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied organ and harpsichord at the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in his native city with Ferenc Gergely and János Sebestyén. He continued his studies at the Royal Flemish Conservatory (Koninklijk Vlaams Muziekconservatorium) in Antwerp with Jos van Immerseel and at the Hochschule für Music in Munich with Hedwig Bilgram.

Spányi has won first prize at international harpsichord competitions in Nantes (1984) and Paris (1987). He has given concerts in most European countries as a soloist on five historical keyboard instruments (organ, harpsichord, fortepiano, clavichord, tangent piano) as well as playing continuo with various chamber music groups and orchestras. He has been artistic director of the Hungarian baroque orchestra Concerto Armonico Budapest since its foundation in 1983. He has recorded an extensive discography for different labels as a soloist and with orchestra. Between 2006-9 Miklós Spányi was artistic director of the Finnish early music group Ensemble OpusX.

For some years Miklós Spányi's work as a performer and researcher has been focused on the oeuvre of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Today he is one of the world’s most acknowledged C.P.E.Bach scholars and performers. For the Swedish label BIS he has been recording C.P.E.Bach’s Complete Keyboard Concertos as well as his Complete Solo Keyboard Music, of both series numerous cd's have already been issued. Hungaroton Records has launched the series Tangent Piano Collection with Miklós Spányi, mostly featuring chamber music with tangent piano. For Könemann Music Budapest Miklós Spányi has editied some volumes of C.P.E.Bach’s solo keyboard works. He has also worked intensively to revive C.P.E. Bach's favourite keyboard instrument, the clavichord. Miklós Spányi was teaching at the Oulu Conservatoire and the Sibelius Academy in Finland between 1990-2012. Currently he is associated as teacher with the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim, Germany, with the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary and with the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He has given masterclasses in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Hungary and Finland.

Booklet for C.P.E. Bach: The Solo Keyboard Music Vol. 41: Keyboard Transcriptions II