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Violinist Boris Begelman plays the "Himalayas for violinists" (Georges Enescu) on a period instrument by Louis Moitessier from the 1790s. J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin are considered by musicologists and many musicians as the pinnacle of musical achievement, arguably the composer’s most demanding and emotionally penetrating works. They undoubtedly have a kind of iconic status in the violin repertoire. Yet, little is known about the background of these fascinating works and the correlations between the music and Bach’s personal life.

It was not until I picked up my violin and played a few movements of solo Bach, one winter's evening at home, that the essence of the composer finally permeated my being.

It was not until the violonist Bob van der Ent picked up his violin and played a few movements of solo Bach, one winter's evening at home, that the essence of the composer finally permeated his being. He felt an almost mystical unity with the music that he had never experienced before. Because there are already so many fabulous recordings of Bach, he asked himself "What can I still add to this?". What surprised him, however, was that the wide diversity of approach was actually a great source of inspiration to him rather than being in any way off-putting. Apparently, the possibilities of Bach's music are inexhaustible. This is what gave him the courage he needed to issue a new recording.

This release is the first volume in the DOREMI series of Theo Olof recordings. Theo Olof was born in Bonn, Germany on May 5, 1924. The family fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and settled in Holland. At age 11, young Theo made a solo appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bruno Walter. In 1951 he became a prizewinner of the International Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition in Brussels and was appointed as co-leader of the Hague Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1974 and until 1985, he was the leader of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Alongside his position in the orchestra, Olof was successfully active as a soloist, chamber musician and a teacher.

The Violin Sonatas and Partitas manuscript, which has fortunately survived, is dated 1720. The first page of the autograph carries the note “Libro Primo”; Bach’s Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012 may have been regarded as the “Libro Secondo”. A dedicatee is not known.

Sergey Malov is one of the most versatile string players. Coming from St. Petersburg, he is considered as versatile as he is virtuoso: he plays violin, viola, baroque violin and cello da spalla – the instrument on which Johann Sebastian Bach himself probably played his cello suites.

There are many questions surrounding Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Six Solos for violin’, or the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, as they are usually called today. When did he compose them, and why, and for whom? In what circumstances were they performed? And why would a master of polyphony choose to write for a melody instrument with limited scope for polyphony or chords? We can only guess at the answers – which makes the works all the more fascinating. The legendary violinist George Enescu famously described the set as ‘the Himalayas of violinists’, but for more than 200 years they were primarily regarded as pedagogical exercises rather than compositions worthy of the concert hall.

Born in Paris on 5 November 1928 to a musical family of Moldovan Jewish immigrants, young Devy Erlih was soon recognized as an outstanding and talented prodigy. The family made it through the WWII German occupation and after the war Erlih continued his studies. He won the coveted Paris conservatoire Premier Prix and his career as violin soloist began. In 1955 Erlih won the International Long-Thibaud competition and subsequently toured throughout Europe, America and Japan.

The Violin Sonatas and Partitas manuscript, which has fortunately survived, is dated 1720. The first page of the autograph carries the note “Libro Primo”; Bach’s Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012 may have been regarded as the “Libro Secondo”. A dedicatee is not known.

The Konzertmeister of the Freiburger Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Goltz, finally records the masterpiece of the repertoire for solo violin: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas.