Bach, J S: Partita No. 1 in B flat major, BWV825

This recording by the leading baroque music director and keyboard specialist Ton Koopman is devoted to the Six Partitas for Harpsichord, BWV 825-830, by J.S. Bach. Koopman is recognised throughout the world as an expert in the interpretation of Bach’s music.

As a harpsichord player and director of the group he founded, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman has been a regular guest at leading concert halls in Vienna, London, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, Salzburg, Tokyo and Osaka. Between 1994 and 2004 he conducted and recorded all the existing cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, and this series received many international awards, among them the BBC Music Magazine Award in 2008.

Ton Koopman is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts in the performance of music of the baroque period and particularly that of J.S. Bach. In August last year He released a recording with Catherine Manson of Bach’s six sonatas for harpsichord and violin BWV1014-1019 (CC72560), and in recent times has released critically acclaimed recordings of the harpsichord works of Dieterich Buxtehude as part of a cycle of his complete works.

After the success of Simone Dinnerstein’s first album for Sony Classical, “Bach – A strange beauty”, which immediately earned the No. 1 spot on the US Billboard Classical Chart, and is one of the few classical albums to make the US Billboard Top 200, Simone’s second Sony album is again devoted to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. This time the pianist juxtaposes music by J.S Bach with that of Franz Schubert.

Simone Dinnerstein believes the music of Bach and Schubert shares a certain distinctive quality; “their non-vocal music has a powerful narrative, a vocal element… Bach and Schubert’s melodic lines are so fluent, so expressive, and so minutely inflected that they sound as though they might at any moment burst suddenly into speech. They sound like something almost being said.”

Inspired by lines from Philip Larkin’s poem “The Trees”, Simone Dinnerstein brings her own unique voice to Bach’s first two Partitas and Schubert’s Four Impromptus Op.90, revealing the inherent vocal qualities in these instrumental works.

The decision to place the Schubert Four Impromptus inbetween Bach’s Partitas only serves to emphasize the similarities between the works which were written over 100 years apart.

The legendary Paul Badura-Skoda pays tribute to the Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti, who sixty years ago gave his last recital in the Kursaal of Besançon. Here, Badura-Skoda performs the programme of this historic concert.

Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi, still only 27, is one of the most sought after young artists of his generation. In 2009 he was awarded a fellowship of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and was invited to join the BBC ‘New Generation Artists’ scheme. This recital beginning with Handel’s Suite in B flat shows his superb sonority.

CD+DVD

DVD-ROM: Abode Acrobat Reader 9.0

Booklet 32 pages in English, French and German

This special multi-media project in a limited edition illustrates the encounter between an artist and an exceptional venue. This museum-quality publication, featuring Paradizo’s elegant packaging and presentation, includes recordings and documents witnessing one of the most important projects of the entire harpsichord revival and Early Music movement. Wanda Landowska’s performances and ideals at her Temple de la Musique Ancienne in Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, near Paris. This project commemorates Wanda Landowska’s vital impact on music making between the years 1927 and 1940. Wanda Landowska (1879 - USA 1959) recorded major Bach harpsichord works in 1935/36 in the legendary acoustics of her newly-built concert hall in Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, designed by Landowska and noted French architect Jean-Charles Moreux. These recordings are considered to be among the most remarkable Bach interpretations of the 20th -century. Remastered in 2010 with state-of-the-art transfers, they are accompanied by a DVD-ROM, containing over 150 images: photos, architect’s plans and letters on the Hall & Gardens from 1927-1940, with a commentary on each by Skip Sempe. It also includes unpublished documents from the archives of the architect Moreux. The DVD-ROM employs the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Skip Sempe completes this project with an essay on the conception, design, architecture and history of the Temple de la Musique Ancienne and evoques the incredible musical emulation generated by this place and the major artist who was Wanda Landowska.

Paradizo is especially pleased to release this special project, which will help to increase awareness concerning plans for the restoration of the Temple de la Musique Ancienne and the revival of its activities. Hailed as "beautiful in conception and execution" since the first releases in 2006, Paradizo has scored the highest points throughout the major international music press - Gramophone, Diapason, Monde de la Musique, New York Times. Paradizo forged an immediate reputation which has ensured continued success through rave reviews, prestigious prizes and attractive sales figures. The Paradizo label was created by Skip Sempé after 15 years of recording for three major labels, many of which were distinguished with international awards. Paradizo features the new recordings of Skip Sempé as solo harpsichordist, chamber musician and director of the ensembles which he founded: Capriccio Stravagante, the Capriccio Stravagante Orchestra, the Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra and the newly created Capriccio Stravagante – Les 24 Violons. Each title in the Paradizo catalogue is an indispensable reference for authoritative, bold music making, celebrating Skip Sempe and Capriccio Stravagante's renewed vision of creative interpretation of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Paradizo: Exuberant music making. Essential listening.

Since Vladimir Ashkenazy’s debut with Decca in 1963, with more than 200 albums as pianist or conductor, he has never recorded the Six Partitas. The ‘master musician’ (Sydney Morning Herald) infuses a lifetime of pianistic and philosophical discernment into the Six Partitas of Bach.

This album will become an obligatory purchase for Bach and Ashkenazy fans: a summit-meeting of masters.

Eminent pianist Murray Perahia completes his recording of J.S. Bach’s Partitas.

Exclusive Sony Classical pianist Murray Perahia releases his final volume of J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Partitas, his first new studio recordings in three years.

Perahia’s previous Bach recordings have garnered a Gramophone and Grammy Award as well as several nominations for both.