2 CD Set

Albert Wong

The Well-TemperedClavier Book 2

(Complete)

The Well-TemperedClavier Book 2

(Complete)

Albert Wong10 YEAR OLD

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❖ Albert Wong • The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 ❖Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1-12 – DISC 1

Prelude No.1 in C Major, BWV 870 2:42Fugue No.1 in C Major, BWV 870 1:33

Prelude No.2 in C minor, BWV 871 1:34Fugue No.2 in C minor, BWV 871 1:58

Prelude No.3 in C sharp Major, BWV 872 2:04Fugue No.3 in C sharp Major, BWV 872 1:44

Prelude No.4 in C sharp minor, BWV 873 4:37Fugue No.4 in C sharp minor, BWV 873 2:26

Prelude No.5 in D Major, BWV 874 3:40Fugue No.5 in D Major, BWV 874 3:04

Prelude No.6 in D minor, BWV 875 1:38Fugue No.6 in D minor, BWV 875 1:56

Prelude No.7 in E flat Major,BWV 876 2:13Fugue No.7 in E flat Major, BWV 876 1:54

Prelude No.8 in E flat minor, BWV 877 3:10Fugue No.8 in E flat minor, BWV 877 3:06

Prelude No.9 in E Major, BWV 878 3:25Fugue No.9 in E Major, BWV 878 2:39

Prelude No.10 in E minor, BWV 879 3:21Fugue No.10 in E minor, BWV 879 2:59

Prelude No.11 in F Major, BWV 880 3:18Fugue No.11 in F Major, BWV 880 1:45

Prelude No.12 in F minor, BWV 881 3:24Fugue No.12 in F minor, BWV 881 2:08

Total Playing Time: 64:14

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• Debut Recording •

Preludes and Fugues Nos. 13-24 – DISC 2Prelude No.13 in F sharp Major, BWV 882 3:20Fugue No.13 in F sharp Major, BWV 882 2:48

Prelude No.14 in F sharp minor, BWV 883 3:14Fugue No.14 in F sharp minor, BWV 883 3:30

Prelude No.15 in G Major, BWV 884 1:34Fugue No.15 in G Major, BWV 884 1:17

Prelude No.16 in G minor, BWV 885 2:41Fugue No.16 in G minor, BWV 885 2:48

Prelude No.17 in A flat Major, BWV 886 4:10Fugue No.17 in A flat Major, BWV 886 2:25

Prelude No.18 in G sharp minor, BWV 887 4:25Fugue No.18 in G sharp minor, BWV 887 4:06

Prelude No.19 in A Major, BWV 888 1:29Fugue No.19 in A Major, BWV 888 1:29

Prelude No.20 in A minor, BWV 889 2:35Fugue No.20 in A minor, BWV 889 1:55

Prelude No.21 in B flat Major, BWV 890 4:00Fugue No.21 in B flat Major, BWV 890 2:08

Prelude No.22 in B flat minor, BWV 891 2:57Fugue No.22 in B flat minor, BWV 891 4:54

Prelude No.23 in B Major, BWV 892 2:40Fugue No.23 in B Major, BWV 892 3:11

Prelude No.24 in B minor, BWV 893 2:22Fugue No.24 in B minor, BWV 893 1:40

Total Playing Time: 69:35

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❖ Johann Sebastian Bach ❖by Albert Wong

I have known Maestro Bach for six long years. Long enough for me to learn many of hisfamous compositions, but not long enough to write about him like a seasoned musicologist.

I was four when I was first told that Bach was a great composer who lived a long time ago,and that he composed a vast number of keyboard, string, and vocal works. That was all I knewand cared to know about him for a while. A year later, I became curious about how this greatman looked, so took a good look at some of his portraits. I found it was not hard at all to spothim among all of the other great composers, for he had a broad face, double chin, and a sternlook, just like me. From that moment, I felt that I was very close to him, because I felt thatwe two must share certain thoughts. First, since he must have eaten a lot to nourish his dou-ble chin, he probably cherished good food the way I do. I simply can not do any serious workwithout having a full stomach! Second, because he did not smile when artists drew his por-traits, he must have thought it was unnecessary, which is also the way I feel. Third, I so enjoylearning and playing all his piano compositions. He must have believed that a good piece ofmusic can be played and interpreted in more than one way – which is what I believe too.Lastly, for reasons that simply can not be elucidated, I have always felt comfortable playinghis works since I was a kid. (In case you haven’t noticed, I am a young man now! I turned tenyears old on January 1, 2000).

At age seven, I made my orchestral debut playing Bach’s F minor concerto. When I waseight, I learned his E major and D minor concertos. In every solo concert I play, I alwaysbegin with a Bach composition. For some abstruse reason, Bach always makes me feel secure.It is a mysterious power that has kept, and will continue to keep me close to this composerall of my life. When I was four, I learned to play Bach’s works the same way I learned all theother composer’s works. For the first year, Bach’s compositions were simply Baroque music tome, I played them purely by intuition. When I first began learning his two-part inventions atfive, my teacher, Mr. Joseph Banowetz, taught me voicing, phrasing and the proper way ofplaying ornaments. Dr. Pamela Paul, has repeatedly stressed the importance of consciouslyremoving myself from the piano and conducting all of the voices when I play Bach.

Since I’m convinced that music played in a proper way is the guaranteed result of a sys-tematic approach, I try very hard to add the elements of consciousness when I play. Now,when I pick up a new Fugue to learn, I will first take the score to my desk instead of the

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piano. I spend time searching and unveilingall the voices, counterpoint, and major andminor themes which maybe wrapped up in allsorts of disguises. Then I use the time to hearall the voices in my brain before I start topractice. Bach’s compositions are very cleverin their own special way. Many of his compo-sitions looked straight forward to me at first,but the more I thought about and playedthem, the harder they became, especiallywhen trying to figure out the change of spir-it, mood and personality of each voice. HisPreludes and Fugues can easily sound likeboring rondos with repeated themes. How tomake them sound musical and interesting is awork of art. I simply cannot make a BachPrelude or Fugue sound right withoutexhausting brain-work. It takes time andenergy to understand them! A good composi-tion, like a good painting, needs not onlytechnique but also wisdom. It is the years ofaccumulated wisdom, which make a goodpainting or composition stand out.

Among all of Bach’s compositions, the Well-Tempered Clavier, commonly called the “48,”are some of the most complicated works he ever wrote. Some of them have as many as fivevoices occurring at the same time. They are grouped into two books, consisting of 24 preludesand fugues each, labeled Part I and Part II. Part I was inspired by the wisdom of the J.C.F.Fischer Ariadne musica, from a set of 20 short preludes and fugues in a chromatic key orderascending from C to B. Bach finished Part II 20 years later, only a few years before his death.I feel very fortunate to be given this opportunity to make my debut recording with WTCBook II for Ivory Classics, since they were composed when Bach’s wisdom was at its apogee.Even though Bach has stated that this group of pieces were written as etudes for advancedstudents to practice, and to demonstrate that it was possible for all key signatures to beplayed in tune under this new equal-temperament tuning, I think that they mean much

Johann Sebastian Bach

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more than practicing or demonstratingpieces. They are not only mercilessly compli-cated in their architecture, they are true art!You have to play them, think about them andsleep with them to uncover, enjoy and appre-ciate their beauty. When I approached the 24pieces in Book II, I found myself ponderingover each one as they came thundering in, foreach one had its own unique personality.Sometimes they looked similar but obviouslythey were quite distinct from each other.

Although they required tiring brain work,they were not boring in the musical sense. I enjoyed his way of showing the grand, ele-gant, romantic, poetic, sorrowful, delightfuldancing styles.

It was a very challenging task to try tounderstand his whole life’s wisdom in theyear that I learned these pieces. There weremany frustrating moments for me in thesemonths! One afternoon, when I could notfind the proper way to show the spirit of acertain Fugue I was working on, the feelingof being stuck and defeated was terribly

frustrating. I stormed into our bathroom and clogged the sink drain with a half boxKleenex tissues. Well, as you can imagine, I simply added another problem. My parentswere not thrilled one bit – I was punished for showing my mood in a wrong way. Mydinner was delayed for a least three hours that night! Patience, is what I have learnedfrom my experience with these 24 monumental works. I had to constantly remind myselfthat it was OK if the first couple of tries did not work correctly. I needed to be patientpracticing and searching for the right interpretations. After practicing all this patience, Iwould say that I have become an old soul who still does not have enough patience! Whatwas the reward that came out of this hard work? Playing other composers’ worksbecame more enjoyable and much eas ie r than before ! It was Maes t ro Bach

Albert Wong age 3

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who made me think and understand the pat-terns of all music.

The general principles that I followedwhen I learned to perform these Bach com-positions were really nothing new to me.Learning Physics made me realize that musicworks the same way. Newton’s laws, devel-oped by the great physicist Isaac Newton(who lived around J.S. Bach’s time),quenched the people’s thirst for answers formore than a century. It was not until the 20th

century that people realized that Newton’sLaws work only when the bodies concernedare not too fast, too slow, too big, too small,too hot, or too cold. People who lived at thatperiod of time simply could not perceivethings that could not be sensed by our fivesenses. The peace and quietness of endlessspace dominated the world at that time.There were no automobiles, no factories, andno pollution. Also, there was no need to rushfor anything. That was the world in whichNewton and Bach lived. This is why I believethat Bach’s music as well as most otherBaroque composers’ music should be presented without extreme dynamics, elaborate phras-es, and/or rubato. Not too fast, not too slow, not too big (elaborate), not too small (flat), nottoo hot (short), not too cold (long), not too loud, and not too soft are what I feel are thebasics of playing Baroque music.

However, we should always remember that music has to be musical no matter when orwhere it is being presented. Human beings simply cannot live without music. Why? Becausemusic can greatly dictate people’s feelings and in order to enchant the listener’s heart, it shouldbe musical! We need to hear some changes of dynamics, mood and spirit even in Baroquemusic. So my basic law is not to rush but to relax so that I bring out the true spirit of musicto the best of my ability.

Albert age 5

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❖ Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier ❖The Preludes and Fugues were composed in two groups of twenty-four each. It was in

1722, while he was at Cöthen, that Bach assembled Book I. In his full title, he tells us muchabout the nature and intention of the music:

“The Well-Tempered Clavier, or Preludes and Fugues on every Tone and Semitone, withthe major third Ut, Re, Mi, and the minor third Re, Mi, Fa. For the Use and Profit of YoungMusicians eager to learn, and also as a Pastime for those already expert in this Art, set forthand composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, at presentation Capellmeister and Director ofChamber Music at the princely Court of Anhalt-Cöthen. Anno 1722.”

Had Bach left us only this work, his immortality and his central position in the history ofmusic would have been assured. After listening to it, one shares the reverence expressed byRobert Schumann in a letter written in 1840: “I myself make a daily confession of my sins tothat mighty one, and endeavor to purify and strengthen myself through him... In fact, to mymind Bach is unapproachable – he is unfathomable.”

Book II did not appear until twenty-two years later, in 1744 when Bach was Cantor ofthe St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. The new volume was designated simply as “Twenty-fournew Preludes and Fugues.” The similarity of design between the two groups, separated bytwenty two years, is undoubtedly responsible for their having been brought together underthe one title.

Paradoxically, this work, which was to inspire and influence more musicians perhaps thanany other, was not published until fifty years after Bach’s death, although it had been circu-lated in manuscript copies among his students and others. The first printed editions whichappeared in 1800-01 were issued by Nageli in Zurich, Simrock of Bonn and Paris, andKuhnel of Leipzig. The first English editions date from 1810.

In composing a Prelude and Fugue for each key, in the order of chromatic ascent, Bachglorified a new system of tuning, in which the keyboard instrument is tuned equally well forall keys. Hence, the term, well-tempered. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, therefore, was an over-whelming demonstration of the importance of such a system of tuning to the composer.

In putting together Book I, Bach incorporated music that he had composed earlier.Several of the Preludes exist in earlier, often simpler, versions than those in The Well-Tempered Clavier. In Book II, also, Bach used music written separately, sometimes transpos-ing it to fit the key scheme. Prelude I of Book II, for instance, exists in three versions; andthere is a charming Fughetta in G major (printed by Bischoff in the appendix of his edition)

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which served as the basis of the Fugue in Gmajor, No. 15, of Book II.

Book II differs from Book I in manyrespects. Frederick Ilffe, in his Analysis ofBach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues, points out thatwhereas in Book I “we find Bach speculatingor making independent and original experi-ments in structure,... there is no direct influ-ence of the Sonata type in the Preludes of thisbook; but in Book II we find, together withoriginal and beautiful experiments... a goodlynumber of specimens of the old Sonata type.”

The Preludes are every bit as fascinating asthe Fugues and, in some ways, they pointmore clearly to later musical developments.Some of them are themselves fugal in charac-ter, such as Prelude 3 of Book II. Others areof the Invention type, such as Preludes 8, 10,and 20 of Book II. Others are of the fantasytype; still others resemble the arioso.Leichtentritt’s wonderful book, Musical Form,contains an interesting classification andanalysis of the Preludes from this point ofview. However they may be analyzed and dis-sected, each are glowing with beauty and inspiration. Bach is playful, reflective, passionate,mystical, boisterous, by turns, always surprising us with some new thought or fancy in hisPreludes.

Equally amazing is Bach’s range of design and expression in the Fugues. So free is he, infact, that none of the fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier obeys the strict laws of the text-books written after him. Ralph Vaughan Williams has gleefully pointed out that one cele-brated English teacher of counterpoint forbade his students to consult The Well-TemperedClavier because it did not obey the “rules”! Some of the fugues are dance-like (Book II, Nos.15, 21, and 24); others are pure song; and some lift us to such heights of nobility of tragicawareness that we are almost terrified by their power (Book II, Nos. 8, 9, 17, 20, 22, and 23).

Albert age 5

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As 21st century listeners of this great music, perhaps we should heed Schumann’s Maximsfor Young Musicians: “Learn the fundamental laws of harmony at an early age... Do not beafraid of the words ‘theory,’ ‘through-bass,’ ‘counterpoint,’ etc.; they will meet you halfway ifyou do the same... Let The Well-Tempered Clavier be your daily bread...” Moreover, asSchumann stated that, “most of Bach’s fugues are character pieces of the highest type; someof them truly poetic creations, each of which demands its individual expression, its individ-ual lights and shades.”

– Notes by Marina and Victor Ledin, © 2000

❖ Albert Wong Biography ❖

Albert Wong, born on January 1, 1990 in Boston, was the first baby boy born in Bostonthat year. He now resides in Dallas, Texas. Even though he could sing many entire songsbefore he could speak complete sentences, his musical interest was not revealed until he sawand heard the piano at age three and a half. By the time he was four he enjoyed the instru-ment so much that he announced to everyone that he wanted to be a pianist. He won thegrand prize of the North Texas Piano Competition at age five. Since five, Albert has been theonly private non-university student of pianist Joseph Banowetz, who teaches at the Universityof North Texas (UNT). Albert’s study with Mr. Banowetz began about five years ago. Mr.Banowetz was not in the practice of coaching gifted children but Albert proved to be a veryspecial case. Mr. Banowetz was surprised to hear such a proficient keyboard technique froma five-year-old – far beyond the keyboard basics. Following his first lesson, Mr. Banowetz test-ed Albert’s pitch memory. Banowetz played single notes. According to an article published inThe Dallas Morning News: “Albert named each correctly. The complexity was then increasedby playing the notes in clusters. Albert identified all those as well. Mr. Banowetz thenslammed his fist on the keys and Albert was able to name all the notes.”

Today Albert is a seasoned performer. He played his first solo recital at age six. Sincethen, he has played numerous solo recitals and participated in chamber and orchestral con-certs. He has appeared on local TV shows, “Good Morning Texas” and “Positively Texas.”He has been spotlighted in an article in Texas Monthly, The Dallas Morning News, and manyother local TV and newspaper segments. He made his orchestral debut in 1997 (at the ageof 7), playing the Bach F minor Concerto from memory shortly after he won the first prizeof the Dallas Symphonic Piano Concerto Competition. On his ninth birthday in 1999, he was

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the featured pianist in an All-Mozart pro-gram presented by the Chamber MusicSociety of Fort Worth, and in July 1999, hehelped Dallas classical radio station WRR-FM in promoting its “Smart Babies” CD. Inthe 1999-2000 concert season, Albert per-formed seven solo piano recitals around thecountry in Missouri, California, and Texas.Albert has also just won the 2000 Bayard H.Friedman award for the Outstanding studentin the Performing Arts. This is his debutrecording.

Albert also performs on the violin, andsince the age of five, has been a featuredsoloist with the Dallas Chamber Orchestra.Currently, he is studying with Dr. JamesLerch, the retired head of the StringDepartment of the University of NorthTexas. As of the end of May 2000 Albert hasbeen studying piano with Mr. StephenSeleny in Dallas.

Besides music, he enjoys reading, biking,construction toys, computer games, playingchess and attending concerts in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. “Piano isn’t the only thing Albert exceeds at. By age 3 he would askhis mother to sit down and read the medical dictionary to him as some kids might ask forDr Seuss.”

In her article published in The Dallas Morning News, Deborah Voorhees wrote: “Hequickly learned the parts of the body and how each worked. In private and home schoollessons he has already studied Shakespeare, Mark Twain and J.R.R. Tolkien. He has readbiographies of Bach, Einstein, Edison, Lincoln, Washington. And he’s a bit of a news hound.He reads Newsweek, Business Week and Texas Monthly.”

“He uses college level algebra and trigonometry in his physics lessons with Jim Knowles,professor of physics at North Lake College.” Dr. Knowles began teaching Albert in mid-

Albert age 6

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November 1998 after finishing his chemistrycourse as a non-university student with one ofhis colleagues.

“Albert “has exceptional analytical skills,”says Dr. Knowles. “When he makes an error,which is rare, he’s able to listen to why it’swrong and correct it.” Three weeks later, he’llapply that understanding to a problem he’snever seen before. “That’s the test that showsmastery of a subject.” Dr. Knowles tries toprepare lessons for Albert, but he always hasto be ready to change gears. Repetition helpsmany students, but “there’s no way Albertneeds to do 50 homework problems. He doesthree and he’s got it.”

“He also shows interest and talent in writ-ing and philosophy. His mind’s insatiableappetite is what turned Albert’s mothertoward music. Neither she nor Chi-PongWong, his father, could read music. Still shetook 3-year-old Albert to a music school totest several instruments. He liked the piano’ssound. About seven years later, he’s more fas-cinated with the instrument than ever. He hasgrown tremendously in his musical ability.

“It’s like the difference between writing nursery rhymes and Shakespearean-quality verse,”says Mr. Banowetz. “We used to work on what we called de-composing. He would play byear, adding notes or making stuff up.” His mom good-naturedly chimes in: “He used to betoo lazy to read the score.” These days, the question is “When will his hands grow largeenough to handle the big, romantic Rachmaninoff pieces? He’s among the very gifted on hisspeed of runs, his trills, turns, fluency and accuracy,” says Dr. Pamela Paul, who has coachedAlbert since 1997. For now Albert is too young to predict what his future holds. So few reachthe pinnacle as a full-time concert pianist. “People rarely predict what horse will win theKentucky Derby.” But Albert’s desire is clear. “I don’t want to be just a concert pianist,”

Albert age 7

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he tells his mother. “I want to be in the top 1percent of great artists.” Albert lives to per-form, “I don’t get nervous” he says, “there isnothing to worry about.” His dreams are toperform in Carnegie Hall and tour the worldgiving concerts. Since this decision he hascommitted himself to more practice time.Just a year ago he preferred not to practice apiece more than 10 times through, typicallypracticing for only two hours a day five daysa week. But, in preparation for this recordingand his numerous concert engagements henow practices at least five hours a day. Thisleaves little time to play, which he prefers. Hismother tries to encourage him to play ballwith the boys in the neighborhood, butAlbert doesn’t like to. “It’s too rowdy,” hesays. “My father and I used to play bad-minton, but it’s too rigorous. I prefer to savemy energy for the piano. I don’t mind watch-ing a ballgame but don’t ask me to participate.I wouldn’t play on a basketball team for a mil-lion dollars.” His parents are very guardedwith Albert. They want to make sure he does-n’t become overwhelmed with too many con-cert dates. “We don’t push him,” says Ms. Chang. “At his age we want to keep itfun.” However, with all of the open career choices, Albert is determined to become a greatconcert pianist.

After an April 23rd concert this year, Wayne Lee Gay of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram wrote:“A remarkable talent… Albert Wong’s performances have the immediacy and responsive-

ness that reveals true talent and originality. Wong consistently showed the ability to imbuethe music with his own character without overshadowing or betraying the composer. Already,we’re beginning to hear the emergence of a distinctive musical personality, characterized byfluidity, clarity, serenity and humor.”

Albert age 9

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The Dallas Morning News’ Scott Cantrellwrote about the same concert:

“10-year-old Albert Wong strode decisive-ly to the piano and delivered luminous tone,fluent technique and shapely phrasing.”

❖ Producer’s Note ❖

It was a genuine pleasure for me to pro-duce this debut recording with AlbertWong. Albert is wise beyond his years. Hearrived so well prepared that in five consecu-tive three-hour sessions, he was able to recordthis wonderful 2-CD disc of Bach’s WTCBook II. Albert is a truly natural pianist, heplays from the heart – he never imitates. Themusical maturity of this young man is aston-ishing. I had the pleasure of being introducedto Albert by the famous virtuoso, Earl Wild,backstage after one of Mr. Wild’s recitals inTexas in May of 1999. At that time I felt I wasin the presence of two great artists. At my

suggestion, Albert (then only 9 years old) began working towards his May 2000 recording ofthese 24 Preludes and Fugues from Book II. Although he still cannot comfortably reach anoctave, the evenness of his playing is hypnotic. Keep your eye on this young artist, I predict he will have a very big career. Albert’s next recording for Ivory Classics will be a discof Clementi piano sonatas available in the fall of 2001.

— Michael Rolland Davis, President, Ivory Classics

Albert age 10

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❖ Credits ❖

Recorded at Fernleaf Abbey, Columbus, Ohio, May 7-11, 2000.

Original 24-Bit Master –Recorded direct to the Sadie Artemis 24-Bit High Resolution disk editor.

Producer: Michael Rolland Davis

Recording Engineer: Ed Thompson

Piano Technician: Paul Schopis

Generous assistance came from the Michael Palm Foundationand Ivory Classics Foundation

Program Notes by: Albert Wong, Marina and Victor Ledin

Design: Communication Graphics

CD Cover of Albert Wong: 2000 Photo by Constance Ashley

Inside Tray Photo by: Michael Rolland Davis (at recording session)

To place an order or to be included on mailing list:Ivory Classics® • P.O. Box 341068 • Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068

Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: http://www.IvoryClassics.com

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®

2000 Ivory Classics® • All Rights Reserved.Ivory Classics® • P.O. Box 341068

Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068 U.S.A. Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799

e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: www.IvoryClassics.com

64405-71007 STEREO

Albert WongAlbert Wong

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (Complete)The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (Complete)

Total Playing Time – 2:13:49

Producer: Michael Rolland Davis l Engineer: Ed Thompson

Original 24-Bit Master

Total Playing Time – 2:13:49

Producer: Michael Rolland Davis l Engineer: Ed Thompson

Original 24-Bit Master

l DISC 1 l

- Preludes and FuguesNos.1-12, BWV 870-881

Disc 1 – 64:14

l DISC 2 l

- Preludes and FuguesNos.13-24, BWV 882-893

Disc 2 – 69:35

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l DISC 1 l

- Preludes and FuguesNos.1-12, BWV 870-881

Disc 1 – 64:14

l DISC 2 l

- Preludes and FuguesNos.13-24, BWV 882-893

Disc 2 – 69:35

241241