Bach: David Fray

The violin was one of Bach’s favourite instruments and inspired his most lyrical outpourings. We know he was greatly influenced by the Italian masters whose work he discovered during his Weimar years – by the power of Frescobaldi, the melodic flexibility of Corelli, the sunny grace of Vivaldi – but he developed his own wonderful artistry in writing music of polyphonic density for the violin and “playing” with its sound palette. His deep understanding of the instrument clearly enabled him to exploit its full potential and to write as well as perform music of the utmost virtuosity.

David Fray adds a landmark of the solo keyboard repertoire to his Bach discography: the Goldberg Variations. “The Goldberg Variations are a real test,” he says. “They are the work of a lifetime, perhaps a work about life itself… a kind of rite of passage, a journey. Every element of human life is in them … When you play the theme again after the 30 variations, in its original purity, it is as if you're at the end of your life, looking back over everything that has happened in the last hour-and-a-half. Few works give such a sense of eternity”.

David Fray, described as “perhaps the most inspired, certainly the most original Bach-player of his generation,” launched his Virgin Classics career with Bach and this is his third album to feature the composer’s keyboard music. “We shouldn’t be afraid of acknowledging the expressiveness of Bach’s music,” says Fray. “The Romantics don’t have a monopoly on expressivity!”

The music on this album gives rise to two intriguing questions. Firstly, are these concertos original Bachian creations? Secondly, should they be played on modern pianos. The two issues are in fact closely linked by the idea of transcription.

After his Bach concertos, a classical bestseller in both France and Germany, the young French pianist David Fray brings his unique sensibilities to Schubert. David Fray has already declared his particular affinity with Austro-German music, and after two CDs featuring Bach (and a DVD featuring him in Bach concertos) he now turns to the early Romantic era and Schubert, with a programme of the six Moments musicaux D780, the four Impromptus D899 and the Allegretto in C minor D915, recorded in Berlin.

Fray manages to bring new life to work by composers old and new. He's much more than a mere virtuoso. His playing always has bags of personality: its warmth and passion and grace and power don't just invest the notes and chords he plays with depth, but perform that most difficult trick for any interpreter to pull off: he makes the listener feel these pieces have never been heard before.

Pianist David Fray already enjoys a fine reputation as a stylish Bach player—elegant, focused, and alive to the rich fantasy that underlies so much of the music. Here, joined by Renaud Capuçon, he plays four of the six sonatas for violin and keyboard with a winning restraint and a songful beauty. Fray is wonderful at the fast-flowing counterpoint, his fingers skipping over the keys and making magic happen. Yet in a movement such as the “Adagio ma non tanto” of the Third Sonata, these two players find a stillness and poise that melts the heart. Heavenly music making.

Vladimir Cosma became a highly regarded and hugely prolific soundtrack composer for the French cinema in the 60s and 70s. As the title says, 40 Films - 40 Bandes Originales. All remastered in high definition onto 17 CDs and beautifully packaged in a handsome box as shown. Including the soundtracks from the iconic film 'Diva', 'Mistral's Daughter', 'The Closet', this set amply demonstrates Cosma's ability to compose good, sometimes great, music to accompany these films, while also borrowing from classics and contemporary pop.