GIDON KREMER, VIOLIN; J.S. Bach, The Sonatas and Partitas (ECM Records) ****
ANDRAS SCHIFF, PIANO; Ludwig van Beethoven, The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 (ECM Records) ****
The six sonatas and partitas for solo violin J.S. Bach wrote are the summation of baroque compositional style and violin technique. They also sum up Bach's artistry. They are profound statements and monumental works for any instrument, or ensemble for that matter.
The works are cornerstones of Western music for the wealth of inventive writing they contain. And they are all the more remarkable for Bach's creativity in using forms which by his time had already become anachronisms (gigue, sarabande, allemande, etc.). Bach's genius lays these old dance forms to rest while at the same time re-inventing them. After these works, there was nothing else to say — Bach had exhausted all musical possibilities.
The sonatas and partitas have been a violinist's Mount Everest ever since they were written in 1720. They pose a challenge to be overcome. There is an inner urge to conquer them simply because they are there. And Gidon Kremer's new two-disc album is just the most recent attempt to scale these lofty musical heights.
The Russian violinist gives a compelling account of these six works. The interpretations are dynamic and filled with nuances of expression and tonal shadings. They're insightful and thoughtful, and, on occasion, thought provoking, as in the Chaconne of the D minor Partita, which, in Kremer's hands, is more direct and pointed than you would expect. Yet his readings of these six exude warmth, and Kremer casts a magical spell over the listener. These are mesmerizing performances.
Kremer's vision of how these works are to be played can be favorably compared to Nathan Milstein's legendary 1975 recording for Deutsche Grammophon, even though there is a significant difference between the two. Milstein takes a more personal approach to the music than Kremer does. But the latter's version is nevertheless the one to have next to Milstein's in your record collection.
Hungarian pianist Andras Schiff is one of today's foremost exponents of a wide range of music, from the baroque to the early 20th century. His eloquent playing and articulate and insightful interpretations capture the musical soul of a work within the first few measures.
Schiff has an uncannily perceptive bent for the music of the baroque and classical eras, but there is something unique and extraordinary about his performances of works from the early 19th century.
With the first volume of his studio recordings of the complete Beethoven sonatas, Schiff has undertaken a tremendous musical journey, one that will test the limits of his artistry. And if this first volume is any indication of what is to follow, then classical music lovers have something to look forward to.
The two-disc album contains the earliest of Beethoven's piano sonatas, the three of op. 2, and also the op. 7.
These are fabulously rich, imaginative and dynamic readings of these early sonatas, which are classically structured with occasional hints of the later Beethoven. And Schiff plays them with classically balanced nuances, but he adds a finely defined romanticism that doesn't overwhelm the music, as frequently happens in the hands of lesser pianists. Schiff plays each of the sonatas with poetic elegance and vibrant energy. And being the consummate artist he is, Schiff keeps everything wonderfully proportioned.
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