Bach , Partitas

Igor Levit has recorded Bach's Partitas BWV 825-830. It is the second release by the 27-year-old pianist, whom many regard as the greatest talent of his time, on Sony Classical. With his debut album, featuring the late Beethoven sonatas, Levit received critical acclaim and awards from international publications and organisations.

The six partitas for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach are among the greatest and most inspired works of all keyboard literature. Although they are the first works that Bach decided to publish, they represent the composer's genius at the height of his maturity, matched only by the Goldberg Variations. Performed on a stunning copy of a North German instrument of Bach's time, rich and expressive, but also clear and incisive, built by Tom and Barbara Wolf, each of the partitas is a microcosm, ranging from the poetic and pastoral (no. 1, in B flat Major), to the epic and tragic (no. 6, in e minor). Bach shows himself to be playful, profound, meditative, theatrical, virtuoso - and always the greatest composer of counterpoint of all time.

Freddy Kempf is a fast-rising young star of the piano literature known for his outstanding virtuosity and independence. Any complaints about Kempf's music-making concern the issues of mannerisms and characterization. Unfortunately, these complaints rear their heads in Kempf's new Bach recording of two of the six keyboard partitas. First, the good stuff. Kempf has 'flying fingers' and an overall technique that is very impressive; just listen to his dynamic accounts of the Gigues from each Partita.

Freddy Kempf is a fast-rising young star of the piano literature known for his outstanding virtuosity and independence. Any complaints about Kempf's music-making concern the issues of mannerisms and characterization. Unfortunately, these complaints rear their heads in Kempf's new Bach recording of two of the six keyboard partitas. First, the good stuff. Kempf has 'flying fingers' and an overall technique that is very impressive; just listen to his dynamic accounts of the Gigues from each Partita.

Recent issues of the Bach partitas on the harpsichord have provoked reservations about the quality of the recordings: the set by Kenneth Gilbert so uncomfortably close to the microphone as to pick up distracting action noise from the instrument, Trevor Pinnock's somewhat fuzzy, Scott Ross's too reverberant to be ideal. So perhaps I may start by commending the admirably warm but clean and natural sound secured by the producer (Chris Sayers)—even in a church (not far from Toulouse)—of the very fine Hemsch harpsichord of 1751 that Rousset has used before.

There is a last disc of the J.S.Bach - Partitas series. Henceforth all Bach's Partitas, performed by T.Nikolayeva are in the Global Network.

Bach's Partita No.6 in E minor, BWV 830 in Tatiana Nikolayeva's execution is a best work of J.S.Bach that I have ever listened. There are a lot of Bach's works, performed by T.Nikolayeva in the Global Network, but the Partitas are absent