J.S. Bach's
Well-Tempered Clavier is the Mount Olympus of keyboard literature. Composed 22 years apart in two ''Books,'' it comprises 24 preludes and fugues in every major and minor key. Bach created the set ``for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study.''
The Miami International Piano Festival opened its three-night Broward Master Series on Sunday with a genuine event as Konstantin Lifschitz tackled the complete Well-Tempered Clavier -- all 48 preludes and fugues -- in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Bach was incapable of creating anything but masterpieces. Beyond its massive scale and pedagogical intent, the WTC offers a universe of expression, from spiritual serenity to dark rumination, as the composer mines an array of riches from the rigorous prelude-and-fugue form.
Bach's preludes and fugues are usually performed singly or in sets of two or three. Lifschitz's epic program was broken up into two roughly equal parts with afternoon and evening concerts spanning a total of 4 ½ hours.
Lifschitz has a long association with the festival, now in its 11th season. But previous appearances and recordings didn't prepare listeners for the level of maturity and artistry displayed Sunday night.
The Ukrainian-born pianist performed the Well-Tempered Clavier by combining works in the same keys from both books, moving in a holistic, ascending tonal scheme from C major to B minor.
The evening installment picked things up with Book I's Prelude and Fugue in F minor and ended three hours later with Book II's Prelude and Fugue in B minor, with a single intermission at the center.
Purely on the basis of physical stamina and eidetic memory -- Lifschitz performed the entire set without a score -- the evening was an astounding feat. But it also presented world-class Bach playing and one of the remarkable evenings of the festival's first decade.
Technically, Lifschitz was faultless Sunday night, dropping not a single note. But the pianist's depth, interpretive maturity and poetic insight made the extended traversal a fascinating journey.
In general, Lifschitz takes a legato approach to Bach, with moderate tempos and a freely expressive style. Yet there was no lack of rhythmic vigor and clarity even in the most contrapuntal fugues. Lifschitz's terraced dynamics and handling of the inner voices were natural and supple, his playing always leading the ear on to the next bar.
But the introspective music provided the moments that stay in the memory. The Prelude in F minor, BWV 857, set the style with a singing quality and a luminous tone that never tired the ear. Lifschitz brought a sense of gentle inevitability to the Fugue in F sharp minor (BWV 883) and plumbed a stark, desolate introspection in the Prelude in G minor where time seemed to stand still.
Those who missed this event, take heart. The festival's partner, Video Artists International, recorded both recitals, and the set will be released on DVD.
Lawrence A. Johnson is The Miami Herald's classical music critic.
