Recital and concerto works by Bach, Beethoven, Shostakovich, Schumann and Chopin

Includes recorded audio files in WAV and MP3 formats, 107:31 in lengthPrelude and Fugue in F Sharp Minor BWV883 by Johann Sebastian Bach\ud Raised in the background of the traditional Lutheran German faith, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) not only mastered representative musical forms of Baroque style but also constantly accepted new styles of music of Italy and France. He was attracted to the music of Dietrich Buxtehude in Northern Germany and Antonio Vivaldi in Italy. Bach's earliest organ works are reminiscent of ideas of Buxtehude in size and of Vivaldi in clear tonality and lucid rhythm. He was successful in bringing a complete combination of German, French, and Italian elements to Baroque music. \ud Bach used the harpsichord and clavichord as mediums to write music of the most popular genres in his time, such as toccatas, preludes, fugues, early sonatas as well as concertos. Among his keyboard masterpieces, the Das wohltemperierte Clavier is one of the outstanding works which fully shows his genius. Das wohltemperierte Clavier is comprised of two volumes which have twenty-four preludes and fugues in each: book I was completed around 1722 and book II was composed in 1742. The preludes and fugues were created individually at different times, but the composer collected them into one series as time passed by. He wrote the books as a guide for learning and elucidated his intention on the title page. Das wohltemperierte Clavier is so valuable in the keyboard history because it featured the use of equal-tempered tuning in all the keys, whereas previously meantone-tempered tuning was the prevalent method of tuning in his time, which did not allow for composition in all keys. (See more in text.