ABSTRACT
This famous series of LP recordings, which was released by the newly formed Dutch label Philips Phonographische Industrie from 1953 to 1959, brought Isolde Ahlgrimm to international attention for her playing of Bach's music. It was a monumental achievement for its time and there is no doubt that Ahlgrimm was seeking to make a major artistic statement and have it placed, literally, on the record. With the war behind her, she was still recovering from the recent loss of her mother and her beloved brother Hans. Philips intended to include all of Bach's harpsichord concertos and the chamber music with harpsichord obbligato in the project—everything Bach composed that had a written-out harpsichord part. Recording for the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier began on 9 November 1951, while the music was still fresh in her memory from the first Bach cycle concerts. Ahlgrimm's recordings opened a new chapter in the playing of historic keyboard instruments.
