Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier is a collection of preludes and fugues for a solo pianist in all 24 keys “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study” - just like Chopin’s famous etudes (studies). The very first piece (BWV846) opens with one of Bach’s best-known melodies, and the entire collection is regarded as one of Bach’s most significant works. It was also ranked 8th on ABC’s Classic 100 Piano Countdown “pieces you can’t live without” survey.

The work is performed here by Daniel-Ben Pienaar, a virtuoso pianist signed with “not evil” record label Magnatune.

Because Magnatune only provides links for streaming their MP3s (128kbps) via M3U playlists, I’ve provided direct file links below to all 96 MP3 files. If you like this music, please support the artist and buy the album (1 2 3 4) in higher-quality files (including FLAC) or on CD.

Download (128kbps .mp3)
Book 1, CD 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Book 1, CD 2: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Book 2, CD 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Book 2, CD 2: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24