Piotr Anderszewski has taken a characteristically creative approach to Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier). Rather than recording all 48 of its prelude-and-fugue pairings, the pianist has focused on 12 pairings from Book Two. “I decided to put the pieces together in a sequence of my own subjective choosing, based sometimes on key relationships, at other times on contrasts.”

His thinking behind the new album is dramaturgical: “There is always a story in music, an emotional narrative, as one piece follows another and relates it, whether it’s a question of contrast or continuity … Looking beyond the contrapuntal science they display, I perceive the preludes and fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier as character pieces. The idea behind playing these works in this specific order is to create a sense of drama that suggests a cycle: 12 characters conversing with one another, mirroring each other.”

In a five-star review, The Guardian wrote, “Playing his own selection of pieces from Bach’s monumental work may be heresy, but Anderszewki’s intelligence, lucidity and joy is undeniable ... It’s a joyous disc, constantly engaging and hugely rewarding.” The album has also been selected as Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine.