Eonidas Kavakos Bach: Violin Concertos (2024)

Johann Sebastian Bach is always seen as a keyboard virtuoso, but he must also have been a very good violinist. At least that is what his son Carl Phillip Emanuel reports and that he was better able to lead the orchestra with his violin than from the harpsichord. Whether Bach wrote his violin concertos for himself or for a guest soloist - possibly the virtuoso Johann Georg Pisendel, who was a friend of his - can no longer be determined today.

Johann Sebastian Bach is always seen as a keyboard virtuoso, but he must also have been a very good violinist. At least that is what his son Carl Phillip Emanuel reports and that he was better able to lead the orchestra with his violin than from the harpsichord. Whether Bach wrote his violin concertos for himself or for a guest soloist - possibly the virtuoso Johann Georg Pisendel, who was a friend of his - can no longer be determined today.

Over the years Frank Peter Zimmermann has built up an impressive discography: he has recorded virtually all major concerto repertoire, ranging from Bach to Ligeti, Dean and Pintscer; the six solos sonatas of Ysaye; the 24 Caprices of Paganini and the complete Violin Sonatas of J.S. Bach and Mozart. He has been performing with all major orchestras in the world, among which the Berliner Philharmoniker with whom he has made his debut in 1985 with Daniel Barenboim; the Wiener Philharmoniker; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, all London orchestras, as well as all big American orchestras. Frank Peter Zimmermann is a regular guest at all major music festivals of among others Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne. Born in 1965 in Duisburg, Germany, he started learning playing the violin with is mother when he was five years old. He studied with Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff and Herman Krebbers. He plays on the 1711 Antonius Stradivari violin "Lady Inchiquin", which is kindly provided by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, "Kunst im Landesbesitz".

Over the years Frank Peter Zimmermann has built up an impressive discography: he has recorded virtually all major concerto repertoire, ranging from Bach to Ligeti, Dean and Pintscer; the six solos sonatas of Ysaye; the 24 Caprices of Paganini and the complete Violin Sonatas of J.S. Bach and Mozart. He has been performing with all major orchestras in the world, among which the Berliner Philharmoniker with whom he has made his debut in 1985 with Daniel Barenboim; the Wiener Philharmoniker; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, all London orchestras, as well as all big American orchestras. Frank Peter Zimmermann is a regular guest at all major music festivals of among others Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne. Born in 1965 in Duisburg, Germany, he started learning playing the violin with is mother when he was five years old. He studied with Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff and Herman Krebbers. He plays on the 1711 Antonius Stradivari violin "Lady Inchiquin", which is kindly provided by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, "Kunst im Landesbesitz".

Although not quite as well known as some of his other works, Bach's violin concertos contain some of the most beautiful music ever composed. While there are many performances of these concertos available, including some recent releases, the classic performances offered here, featuring the great Arthur Grumiaux on violin (and the great Hermann Krebbers on the double violin concerto), are far and away my favorites. I cannot recommend this disc more highly.

This disc has a lot going for it. Thomas Zehetmair is a world-renowned violinist; the Amsterdam Bach Soloists comprise a little over a dozen players from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra; and while they perform on modern instruments, they adhere largely to historically informed performance practice. Thus, we get the best of all worlds: world-class playing; smooth, mellifluous sound; and convincing interpretations.