The history is fascinating, and it all goes back to an Italian guy who decided to transcribe works by Bach for a modern piano. His name was Ferruccio Busoni and he had a real knack for creating music that remained true to Bach's original score while making great use of the capabilities of a piano.
For more about Ferruccio, check out this Wiki link. There is much information in there, including a lot of German words used to describe what he did. He laid out his philosophy, methodology and goals and now that I have slightly increased my understanding of who he was and what he was going for I have a much greater appreciation for his work.
First off, Itzhak Perlman playing BWV 1004. The chaconne starts at 13:50 for those of you who want to cut to the chase. Do his friends call him "Itzy"?
Once you have a passing familiarity with the source material, one can move on to what Signor Busoni wrote. This is a version played by Helene Grimaud, and I really like how she played it:
That is all - no tall tales today.
