…..I was initially sceptical that a recording using the full sonority of a Hamburg D Steinway would produce an excessively Romanticised WTC but I find it a welcome antidote to other rather dry performances where there has been an attempt to produce a harpsichord effect.
Woodward’s tempi are slower than most but always appropriate and never laboured. He knows where he is going and maintains dynamic drive but there is no headlong rush and he remains firmly in control. There are variations in tempi and dynamics but these are always dictated by the music and there is none of the feeling of instability present in Angela Hewitt’s recent recording. He has achieved Bach’s ideal of legato cantabile performance.  I find him particularly impressive in the big Fugues where he never loses direction or sureness of touch. Woodward provides ample justification for his performance in the scholarly notes and this set is further enhanced by providing facsimiles of the autograph scores.