Slava Grigoryan Bach

Slava Grigoryan’s acclaimed Bach journey continues with the second volume of the Cello Suites.

Guitarist Slava Grigoryan embarks on a major new recording series surveying the music of JS Bach, beginning with the beloved Cello Suites.

The Grigoryan Brothers return with an album of J.S. Bach's best-loved concertos, newly arranged for two guitars and orchestra. The two great forces in J.S. Bach's life were music and family - somewhat inevitably, for a man who had twenty children. Bach first wrote the concertos on this disc as a young composer finding his place in the world, seeking to establish both his musical and personal identity. But they stayed with him throughout his life: he adapted them for different instruments, performed them with his sons, and used them to pass down his musical and life experiences.

So it is entirely fitting that two brothers, Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, have come together to play these works. The parallels are even more poignant considering their father, Edward, created the arrangements on this disc, and that early rehearsals of this material involved their parents (Edward on violin, Irina on viola) and Slava’s wife Sharon (on cello). The intimacy and eternity of Bach’s music could hardly be better illustrated.

Featuring the very best new music and a handful of the old, this hand-picked collection of classics is the perfect gift for the modern man – in all his variation and complexity. New school masters such as Einaudi, Glass, Michael Nyman and Arvo Pärt, plus old school favourites by Debussy, Bach and Schubert.

Globally renowned for their superlative musicianship, Slava and Leonard Grigoryan have decided to get personal for their latest album. Performing arrangements made by their father Edward, the brothers have chosen songs that are particularly close to their heart, and as well as a few new discoveries – including timeless songs by Tchaikovsky (Chanson Triste, None But the Lonely Heart), Rachmaninoff (Vocalise), Elgar (Chanson de Nuit, Chanson de Matin), Bach, Ponce, Fauré and others. The Grigoryan Brothers, individually and as a duo, are counted amongst the finest musicians of their generation. Between them, they have clocked up an incredible 21 ARIA Award nominations and their recording and performing careers – and popularity – continue to flourish.

With so many of us cut off from loved ones, ABC Classic is reaching out to music lovers across the country and around the world with this album of musical hugs: gentle, reassuring classical favourites that speak straight to the heart, no matter the miles that may keep us apart.Classical Hugs has become a regular feature of the Breakfast program on ABC Classic: shortly after 8am each morning, listeners are treated to a piece of music specially chosen for its warm, encouraging, calming qualities. This is music that puts its arm around us to offer sympathy and understanding, music that steadies us and cheers us, music full of contentment and hope.With intimate piano music by Bach, Brahms and Chopin, luxuriant orchestral classics by Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams and Samuel Barber, choral gems by Fauré and Puccini, and featuring performances by Jayson Gillham, Karin Schaupp, Slava Grigoryan, Diana Doherty, Emily Sun, Sara Macliver, Gondwana Voices and some of Australia’s finest symphony orchestras, this is an album to bring comfort, inspiration and joy.