Bach: Transcriptions

Distinguished pianist Helene Grimaud has finally come around to recording Bach, and, for many, it is definitely a moment that was well worth waiting for. Her interpretations of Bach will not please everyone, especially those who are more comfortable with expressive recordings from the likes of Glenn Gould - whom she does admire greatly - and Simone Dinnerstein. While she professes little interest in period instrument practice, her latest recording features performances that are remarkably limited with respect to her usually expressive qualities, since she treats the modern piano keyboard much in the same manner as she would with the harpsichord, respecting Bach's original intentions by not exploiting the piano's considerably richer sonic qualities. Admittedly for some, this means that hers is a rather routine, quite dull, recording of Bach's keyboard works - including several transcriptions from other instruments - made by such noteworthy successors as Liszt, Busoni and Rachmaninov - but I respectfully disagree. There is much to be quite passionate about in Grimaud's recordings, especially in her delicate performances of selected preludes and fugues from The Well-Tempered Klavier. Indeed, as she, herself notes, in the album's liner notes, there is no right way to perform Bach, except when it is performed in a "...tradition of emotional and intellectual honesty, with the right balance between thought and intuition, between the notes on the page and the pulse of the heart."

Virtually all of the pieces were recorded in August 2008 in a Berlin recording studio. These include not only selected pieces from The Well-Tempered Klavier (No.2 in C minor, No. 4 in C sharp minor (Book 1), No. 6 in D minor, No. 20 in A minor, No. 9 in E major (Book 2), but also Busoni's transcription of the Chaconne in D minor (arranged from Violin Partita no. 2, BWV 1004), Liszt's transcription of the Prelude and Fugue in A minor (arranged from BWV 543 for organ), and Rachmaninov's transcription of the Prelude in E major (arranged from Violin Partita no. 3, BWV 1006). Her interest in performing these transcriptions was to determine how well these latter-day composers conveyed Bach's original musical thought, and, judging from her performances, they most certainly succeeded. Directing from the keyboard, Grimaud leads the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in a spirited, most vibrant, performance of the Bach Concerto for Piano No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052; itself a transcription of a concerto written originally for the violin, then transcribed by Bach, first for the organ, and then, the piano. Without question this is yet another fine recording from Grimaud, certain to win further admiration from her most devout fans and other admirers.

This disc may polarise opinion as everthing this pianist seems to do- I regret to say much of the antipathy seems to be the result of marketing hype and the way Grimaud's looks are used. Well...whatever, the fact is she is a wonderful pianist and an imaginative programmer. The only weak part of this disc is the concerto and that is principally because the piano is too prominent- which is an engineering rather than a musical issue. The other pieces are beautifully played. The Busoni version of the great Chaconne takes centre stage and rightly so.

Four and a half OVERALL Stars!! Five Stars for Grimaud!! So much Bach from so many angles by one of the world's greatest pianists!!! Award-winning French virtuoso pianist Hélène Grimaud, in the third decade of her career, adds the works of Johann Sebastian Bach to her recorded repertoire, completing all '3 Bs' (Bach, Beethoven, & Brahms) for her discography. She has performed Bach before, most nobably a live blazing, nuanced Chaconne, which to my mind may in the end be her 'signature piece'. And the performances by this musical dynamo on this CD are just as brilliant, covering five prelude-fugue pairings from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, his Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Continuo No. 1 in D Minor with the vaunted Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic (Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen) orchestra (Ms Grimaud is on piano), and 3 notable transcriptions/re-workings for solo piano by master virtuosos/composers: Liszt's transcription of the Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, Rachmaninov's Preludio based on Bach's Partita for Violin Solo No. 3 in E, and the awesome Bach/Busoni Chaconne in D Minor based on Bach's Partita for Violin Solo No. 2 in D Minor.

Grimaud puts her individual stamp on the Well Tempered Clavier prelude-fugue couplings, such as the energetic Book 1, "Prelude in C Minor, BWV 847" that is closer to Richter than Gould and Schiff. And the Book 2, Prelude in A Minor, BWV 889, which is conversely closer to Gould than Richter, and the Fugue which is the opposite, is still idiomatic Grimaud. But with all due respect to the prelude and fugue couplings and the Concerto which are marvelous from the Grimaud performance perspective, the pieces that consume my interest are the three aforementioned variations and arrangements by Busoni, Rachmaninov, and Liszt. Bach/Busoni Chaconne in D minor is a thing of pure beauty & Ms Grimaud puts her stamp on this work with an awesome performance. Also there are great performances of Liszt's Prelude and Fugue in A Minor and the Rachmaninov Preludio. On the Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Continuo, the Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic orchestra is recorded somewhat behind Ms Grimaud's piano where their sound should be elevated more: an engineering technicality, but even so Grimaud and the orchestra are still magnificent. Hopefully the DDD-limited edition CD version has better sound: Bach - Keyboard Concerto And Piano Solo Pieces [Limited Edition] But, again, Ms Grimaud's Chaconne in D minor is the amazing performance and worth the price of admission on its own, along with the Liszt and Rachmaninov perspectives on Bach. Ms Grimaud is superb!! Highly Recommended. Four and a half WONDERFUL Stars!! (This review is based on an mp3 download)