The complete Bach transcriptions by Eugen d’Albert (1864–1932)
Passacaglia in C minor BWV582
Six Preludes and Fugues
Prelude (Fantasia) and Fugue in C minor BWV537 / Prelude and Fugue in G major BWV541 / Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in F major BWV540 / Prelude and Fugue in A major BWV536 / Prelude and Fugue in F minor BWV534 / Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in D minor ‘Dorian’ BWV538 / Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV532

Hyperion’s Bach Piano Transcriptions series reaches volume 8, and continues to surprise and delight with a disc containing many first recordings. The controversial figure of Eugen d’Albert was one of the greatest pianists of his day and, although largely forgotten now, a composer of genuinely international renown. A sometime student at the Royal College of Music, d’Albert rejected his British upbringing and nailed his colours to the mast of German music. Bach was an important part of his performing career—and like other great nineteeth-century pianists, d’Albert saw in the monumental scale of the organ works an opportunity to synthesize the works of the Master with the expanded capabilities of the modern piano.