Bach, J S: Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, BWV992 (on the departure of his beloved brother)

As harpsichordist, conductor, and musical director of the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset is one of the finest interpreters of Baroque music. His first recording for Aparté, devoted to Louis Couperin, was received most enthusiastically by public and critics alike, and collected many distinctions in the international press including BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Choice.

Now at the peak of his maturity, the artist presents an original programme, Bach Fantasy, in which he treats us to little-known works but also standards by the great J.S. Bach. Apart from the important sets of works, including the Goldberg Variations, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the keyboard Suites and Partitas, many miscellaneous pieces by Bach have come down to us in the hand of his pupils and admirers: early essays, pieces of a didactic nature, evocations of emotions, and sometimes all of the above. Christophe Rousset plays these pieces on the 1632 Ruckers harpsichord of Neuchâtel, one of the finest in the world.

“He left an ocean of music” Martha Argerich

First release ever of a swinging virtuosic Bach album by cult pianist Friedrich Gulda. These are live and studio recordings from 1955 to 1969, in both mono and stereo. Two big works (English Suites nos. 2 and 3) form the frame of magically energetic and moving recital. Gulda briefly introduces some of the works himself. Also included are private recordings (from Uppsala and Trieste), made by Gulda himself while on tour, now in the Gulda archive

With Gulda’s own jazz take on Bach - his wonderfully exuberant Prelude and Fugue - as bonus! Remastering supervised by Gulda's son Paul, who also wrote the liner notes.

Who was the young Bach? A rebellious, provocative adolescent? A clever, stubborn careerist? An innovator, as gifted as he was prolific? Certainly a mixture of all three, replies the harpsichordist Andreas Staier in this selection of early works that are anything but run-of-the-mill.This programme shows how Bach, eager to call the music of his time into question, assimilated multiple influences and gave a 'new look' to the traditions of north Germany.

Angela Hewitt's recordings of J S Bach's keyboard works are rapidly being seen as the definitive modern survey on the piano. Such is her natural affinity for Bach's style, her aliveness to his dancing rhythms and her sensitive use of the modern instrument, that she is the natural successor to a prestigious line of great Bach pianists. This disc includes works from the second and third volumes of Bach's Clavierübung (Keyboard Practice). In the Italian Concerto and French Overture Bach demonstrates not only his skill as translating to the keyboard two of the most popular orchestral genres of the time, but also his natural assimilation of their respective national characteristics, while remaining true to his own style. These are among his happiest inspirations. The Italian Concerto brims with joyous thematic invention and allusions to solo and orchestral contrasts, while the French Overture (often called a Partita) is a lively dance suite. The Four Duets, rather like more mature Two-part Inventions, and the youthful Capriccios complete a sunny and inspirational disc.

Wilhelm Kempff's credentials as an organist and composer lend a naturalness and flexibility to these performances of some of Bach's best known Preludes and Fugues. There is also the very forward-looking, almost improvisatory piece of programme music - the Capriccio and a wonderful performance of the great D major Toccata and Fugue.

After the success of his two previous discs, devoted to Scarlatti and Clementi, pianist Olivier Cavé pursues his companionship with a Bach project.

Throughout his extraordinary career, Bach never tired of copying by hand the music of others, and the sense of eclecticism that would drive him to reproduce and adapt works, namely Italian music, was his way of achieving a very personal synthesis and creation, where abstract speculation and poetry would find their place.

These beautiful transcriptions were precisely at the origin of one of his master pieces, the Italian Concerto.

Jacob Katsnelson, one of the most promising pianists of his generation, has won many prestigious piano competitions which have helped to launch his career as concert pianist. He brings a fresh and dynamic performance to these gems of Bach’s compositional work.

This is a recital of rarities by one of the most important and controversial pianists of the 20th century. He was as at home in the world of jazz as well as classical music and this brought elitist criticism. He performs Bach’s Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo BWV 992 (first time on CD), Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Nos 10 and 31 and works by Haydn which he rarely performed in public.