Simone Dinnerstein has been described as “a throwback to such high priestesses of music as Wanda Landowska and Myra Hess” by Slate magazine and praised by TIME for her “arresting freshness and subtlety”.
The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007, it ranked No. 1 on the US Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many ‘Best of 2007’ lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker. Her follow-up album, The Berlin Concert, also gained the No. 1 spot on the Chart.
After Simone’s collaborative travels with folk-singer Tift Merritt on 2013 album ‘Night’, she reconnects with the foundation of her musical career and what’s she is best known for with a solo album of J.S. Bach’s keyboard works.
This album features beautiful, well-known music by one of the most popular composers of all time that appeals to a broad audience, performed by the pianist that made her name for her original interpretation of Bach.
“An utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation” The New York Times
Bach’s Inventions and Sinfonias (commonly known as the 3-part Inventions) are the foundation of keyboard students’ study. Likewise most musicologists will study part of the Inventions at some stage of their theoretical education. Simone is keen to reach young students, their parents and musicologists, in addition to her usual fan base and plans a series of short videos on a selection of the inventions to connect with this audience.
Simone Dinnerstein says: “The first keyboard pieces of Bach that I remember hearing were his Inventions, when I was nine years old. The music seemed impossibly expressive and virtuosic at the time, and wholly beyond my abilities. Here were two continuous and independent voices, neither of which was subservient to the other. Until then I had thought of music as melody and accompaniment. An instrumental training is as much a training in how to listen as in how to play. In the text that accompanies the Inventions, Bach calls them ‘an honest guide.’ His Inventions and Sinfonias are marvels in demonstrating just how potent counterpoint is as an aid to expression, and how powerful a cantabile voice can be when surrounded by contradiction and elaboration. These small masterpieces have snippets of dances in them, laments and celebrations, simplicity and complexity.”
