Weltempered Clavier

The Swiss harpsichordist Michel Kiener presents his interpretation of the timeless classic, Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Michel Kiener undertook both his piano and harpsichord studies in the classes of Louis Hiltbrand (1972) and Isabelle Nef (1975) at the local Conservatory of Music, where he won the prize of virtuosity in both disciplines. Further on, he attended improvement studies with Anneke Uittenbosch and Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. He was awarded the first prize of the Bridges International Harpsichord Competition in 1977 and at the International Competition in Geneva. Since 1977, Michel Kiener has been a professor at the Conservatory of Geneva, while pursuing his activities as both a concert performer and an educator. He has given many concerts in Europe, Latin America and Asia. His background both as a pianist and harpsichordist soon led him to approach the late Baroque and Classical repertories on the pianoforte of 18th and 19th centuries, and even on the clavichord. He plays a magnificent harpsichord made by William Dowd in Paris in 1978, modeled on an instrument made by N. Blanchet in 1730. He interprets J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) on a Dowd harpsichord tuned according to the unequal system of J.S. Bach.