LDV38.1

28 BACH_THEWELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER So the First Book would be easier to perform in a live recital . . That’s right. First because it’s shorter and less intellectually challenging for the audience. In a complete live performance, the Second Book marks the very limit of my powers of concentration. But then Bach never imagined that TheWell-Tempered Clavier would be performed in concert, still less all at once. Tell us about the instrument you recorded on. It’s a Steinway D dating from the 1980s, which András Schiff uses regularly for his recordings. It’s an instrument with a remarkable cantabile quality. The long decay time was essential for me. The piano is very individual, and I wanted it to be tuned in unequal temperament. Equal temperament didn’t exist in Bach’s time and each key still had a particular flavour of its own. That means – for a trained ear – that you can hear beat tones in the keys furthest from C major.