Glenn Gould and Leonard Bernstein: Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1 (I) in D minor (BWV 1052)

I felt that way at first, but after getting around to listening to a few of them you start to realize he repurposed a lot his favorite material from these cantatas into his instrumental works. For example, one of Bach's innovations was the keyboard concerto - where the keyboard played the central solo role. The profound Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV 1052, ▶ this video , is actually reworked from the cantatas BWV 146 & 148. While there's obviously plenty to enjoy w/o dipping into the cantatas, you might miss out on making these kinds of connections which I think really enriches our understanding of the instrumental works.

I find Osetinskaya plays so fast that it's difficult to make out the counterpoint. Have a look/listen at Glenn Gould's version, which makes the counterpoint really clear [1]. As you might know, this interpretation was controversial at the time. [1] ▶ this video

If anyone is interested in Bach's keyboard literature, it's hard to top the interpretations of Glenn Gould, a fascinating musician in his own right. Here, for example, is a seminal performance of the D minor concerto, conducted by Leonard Bernstein: ▶ this video