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Background:

• Written in the last decade of his life, it is Bach’s culmination of his experimentation with monothematic instrumental work.
• It consists of fourteen fugues and four canons in D minor, each using some variation of a single principal subject, and generally ordered to increase in complexity.
• The earliest extant of the work is an autograph manuscript possibly written from 1740 to 1746, presently in the Berlin State Library; bearing the title Die/Kunst der Fuga.

Recordings:

• The Art of Fugue.
  Cuarteto Casals.
  Harmonia Mundi.

• Prism V: Beethoven, Webern, Bach. The Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus 14, Fuga a 3 Soggetti.
  Danish String Quartet.
  ECM.
  Opus Klassik Awards (2024): Nominated Ensemble of the Year.
  Opus Klassik Awards (2024): Nominated Chamber Music Recording of the Year.

• The Art of Fugue.
  Ottavio Dantone (harpsichord).
  Accademia Bizantina
  Decca.

• Reinhard Febel & J.S. Bach. 18 Studies on “The Art of Fugue.”
  Duo, Tal & Groethuysen.
  Sony.
  Opus Klassik (2021): Winner Chamber Music.

• The Art of Fugue.
  Fretwork.
  Harmonia Mundi.
  Gramophone Magazine (2002): Editor’s Choice.

• The Art of Fugue.
  Angela Hewitt.
  Hyperion.

• The Art of Fugue on Bach’s Original Instruments.
  Johannes Lang.
  Collegium Musicum ’23.
  Ramee.

• Die Kunst der Fuge. L’Art de la Fugue.
  Davitt Moroney (clavecin).
  Harmonia Mundi.
  Gramophone Awards (1986): Winner Early Music Baroque.
  Radio 3 Building a Library (2007): Harpsichord Choice.

• The Art of Fugue. The 1993 Sibelius Academy Recital, Helsinki.
  Tatyana Nikolayeva.
  First Hand.
  BBC Music Magazine (2020): Historical Choice.

• The Art of Fugue.
  Phantasm.
  Linn.
  International Classical Music Magazine (2026): Nominated Baroque Instrumental.

• The Art of Fugue.
  Rachel Podger (violin).
  Brecon Baroque.
  Channel Classics.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2016): Finalist.

• Die Kunst der Fuge.
  Christophe Rousset (harpsichord).
  Aparte.
  Opus Klassik Awards (2024): Nominated Solo Instrumental Recording of the Year.

• Die Kunst der Fuge. Volumes 1 & 2.
  Masaaki Suzuki , Masato Suzuki (harpsichord).
  BIS.
  Gramophone Awards (2024): Shortlisted Instrumental.
  Gramophone Magazine (2024): Critics’ Choice.

• The Art of Life. Encore Edition.
  Daniil Trifonov.
  Deutsche Grammophon.
  Grammy Awards (2023): Nominee Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

• Bach Trios. The Art of Fugue Excepts.
  Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Chris Thile (mandolin), Edgar Meyer (double bass).
  Nonesuch.
  BBC Music Magazine (2017): Chamber Choice.
  Opus Klassik Awards (2018): Winner Chamber Music.

About Coram Deo

Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.