Bach Sonatas Partitas Enes

Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin are pinnacles of the repertoire—beautiful, mysterious works that test a violinist’s technical and musical skills to their limits. It’s music that’s perfectly suited to Giuliano Carmignola, one of today’s great Baroque performers. His playing has a beguiling rhythmic freedom that highlights the music’s spontaneity and an expressiveness that penetrates its soul. The Presto from the Sonata No. 1, one of Bach’s most exhilarating movements, is a thrilling ride, while the tender Sarabande from Partita No. 1 sings and sighs. And the Chaconne from the second partita, an astonishing 14-minute set of 32 variations, emerges glorious, noble, and majestic—a miracle of Baroque performance.

“Recording Bach’s complete Six Sonatas and Partitas has long been a dream of mine,” says Augustin Hadelich “They are formidable tests of technical ability and stamina, but also of musical imagination and expressive range – they never cease to provide challenges, hope, and joy.” For his interpretation, sensitive to historical practice, Hadelich chose to use a baroque bow. “It was a revelation,” he says. “It felt liberating… Passages of three- and four-note chords felt more fluid .. The dance movements danced more and the slow movements sang more.”

Since the mid-1980s, Frank Peter Zimmermann has earned recognition as one of the leading violinists, admired not only for his technical skill and interpretive intelligence, but also for his versatility in a wide-ranging repertoire. His extensive discography spans from Bach concertos and Beethoven sonatas to works by composers such as Ligeti, Magnus Lindberg and Brett Dean. But during the four decades that Zimmermann has been making recordings, he has never previously recorded Bach’s Sei solo, the six sonatas and partitas for solo violin which form an absolute pinnacle in the repertoire for the instrument.