Anthony Burgess wrote The Bad-Tempered Electronic Keyboard in 1985 to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of J. S. Bach. It was also the year he took receipt of a new electronic synthesiser that offered Piano, Organ, Frog and Funny among its pre-set sounds. The musical homage that resulted sports an intriguing mix of styles that oscillate between Bach’s classicism and the modernity of Shostakovich, with splashes of romanticism and elements of music hall. And if you’re thinking the composer couldn’t be the same Anthony Burgess who had written A Clockwork Orange more than twenty years earlier, think again! Raymond Bisha guides us through Burgess’ eclectic collection of 24 preludes and fugues.
View album details of Burgess’ The Bad-Tempered Electronic Keyboard at Naxos.com
Catalogue No.: GP773
Podcast: Play in new window