Having recorded Bach’s core keyboard works during his contract with Decca in the 1980s, András Schiff began revisiting this repertoire for ECM, starting with the Goldberg Variations (A/03) and the Partitas (12/09). His new Well-Tempered Clavier reveals many instances of interpretative refinement and rethinking. Note, for example, a more incisively articulated Book 1 C minor Prelude, followed by a less tapered, more directly phrased fugue. The Book 1 D major Fugue’s dotted rhythms take on additional dynamism and swagger, while Decca’s spacious and singing Book 1 E flat minor Prelude gives way to a more line-orientated perspective. Also note Schiff II’s slightly slower Book 1 F major Prelude, where the tune in the left-hand accompaniment emerges more in the foreground against the right hand’s toccata-like patterns, although I happen to prefer Schiff I’s quicker lilt.

Whereas the Decca Book 2 E major Prelude gradually slows down under its suave surface, the leaner remake maintains tempo, complemented by an equally fluid yet more austere Fugue. By contrast, the smooth and uniform textural strands in Schiff I’s Book 2 C sharp major Prelude have been replaced by Schiff II’s more conversational linear interplay. One can make almost the same observation while evaluating both versions of the Book 2 C sharp minor Prelude and Fugue. Schiff I emphasises the Book 2 G sharp minor Fugue’s triplet groupings in a manner that feels slightly square, while Schiff II is less predictably accented. Other Schiff II advantages include a Book 1 A major Fugue whose cross-rhythmic phrases float more effortlessly over the bar-line, plus a lighter, more varied touch in Book 2’s G minor and B flat minor Fugues.

To be sure, Schiff does not always surpass his younger self. The Book 2 B flat major Prelude’s newly calibrated linear profile misses the earlier traversal’s suppleness and humour. And Schiff now arpeggiates the Book 2 F minor Prelude’s right-hand dyads to fussy, mannered and rather predictable effect. Reservations aside, Schiff remains a stimulating Bach pianist who happily refuses to rest on his discographical laurels. ECM’s production team beautifully capture Schiff’s timbrally distinct and superbly regulated concert grand.