Maurizio Bling

Pollini is so much a part of the contemporary music scene that it's amazing to realize that the earliest material on this disc (Stravinsky and Prokofiev) dates to the 1940s. These two performances retain their power to startle and amaze, both through Pollini's seemingly effortless virtuosity and through the immediacy of his musical conceptions. This Prokofiev is a close rival even to Richter's. Webern, from six years later, is so colorful and well organized that it makes the difficult music almost easy to listen to. Not many listeners will put up with Boulez's obscurities, but there is still plenty to make the disc worthwhile.

While noted for his interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Bruckner and Strauss, Bohm is generally not the first conductor I think of when it comes to Beethoven. That said, he has always proven to be a gifted accompanist, and that holds here as well. He and Pollini seem to share a similar vision for this work, and thus both the soloist and orchestral forces work towards the same end goal.

While noted for his interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Bruckner and Strauss, Bohm is generally not the first conductor I think of when it comes to Beethoven. That said, he has always proven to be a gifted accompanist, and that holds here as well. He and Pollini seem to share a similar vision for this work, and thus both the soloist and orchestral forces work towards the same end goal.

The Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801, also known as the Two- and Three-Part Inventions, are a collection of thirty short keyboard compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach: 15 inventions, which are two-part contrapuntal pieces, and 15 sinfonias, which are three-part contrapuntal pieces. They were originally written as musical exercises for his students. The four duetti BWV 802–805 were included at a fairly late stage in 1739 in the engraved plates for Clavier-Übung III. The use of the term duetto itself is closest to that given in the first volume of the Critica Musica (1722) of Johann Mattheson: a piece for two voices involving more than just "imitation at the unison and the octave". The purpose of the Bach's Duets has remained a source of debate. We thought it interesting – if a little controversial – to include different takes of the Inventions and Sinfonias that pianist Maurizio Zaccaria played during the same recording session. Each take is unique, with its own shades and nuances.

The Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801, also known as the Two- and Three-Part Inventions, are a collection of thirty short keyboard compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach: 15 inventions, which are two-part contrapuntal pieces, and 15 sinfonias, which are three-part contrapuntal pieces. They were originally written as musical exercises for his students. We thought it interesting - if a little controversial - to include different takes of the Inventions and Sinfonias that pianist Maurizio Zaccaria played during the same recording session. Each take is unique, with its own shades and nuances.