Bach, J S: Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin, BWV1001-1006

The star of the young Hungarian violinist Kristóf Baráti is quickly rising. Having won several important international competitions (the most recent first prize at the prestigious Paganini Competition in Moscow) he plays with important orchestras and conductors, like Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, Iván Fischer, Yuri Temirkanov and Marek Janowski.

His recent recording of Beethoven’s complete violin sonatas with Klára Würtz received rave reviews: “5 stars…a great duo, comparable with Perlman/Ashkenazy, Grumiaux/Haskil, Ferras/Barbizet’ (Diapason), “A talent that comes along once in a decade, perhaps once in a generation, I don’t say it lightly, but once you’ve heard Baráti and Würtz you’ll never listen to anyone else again” (Fanfare).

This recording of the great solo Bach was issued on Berlin Classics in 2009, and shows the sovereign command over the matter, and a deep understanding of the spirit of these masterworks.

Bach may well be one of the most widely acknowledged master composers of all time, but that only serves to make each performer’s interpretation of his work all the more challenging and distinctive: each musician must both do justice to the composer’s intention, making a decision as to the best way of conveying that within the music which is not fixed, and at the same time leave their own mark on the performance. This is especially true for these Sonatas and Partitas given the variety of styles in which such Baroque masterworks have been performed, ranging from the freely romantic to the strictly precise, and the technical challenge posed by these complex pieces for a single instrument. The works in this collection are something of an enigma, not only because of the uncertainty surrounding the circumstances and date of their composition, but, more crucially, because of the way in which they stretch the capacity for polyphony of a single violin beyond its physical limit. It is as though Bach had written for a full ensemble of instruments – but on a single staff. Modern musicians have even speculated as to the possible existence of a special bow with which an exact performance of the music might have been achieved in Bach’s day. The music is no less rich for all of this, however: on the contrary, the harmonic complexity of these pieces is at once captivating and beautiful; the implied but absent notes are thrillingly suggestive; and the multiplicity of voices leaves the listener marvelling at Bach’s compositional vision and the performer’s ability.

This accomplished musical feat is performed by Kristóf Baráti, a Hungarian violinist who has worked with an astonishing number of world‐famous orchestras and conductors. Baráti plays a 1703 Stradivarius violin, and one can sense this echo of the era of the pieces as much as one can his intense emotional involvement with the music.

Over the past 40 years Philippe Herreweghe has been working with some extraordinary soloists with whom he has had very fertile and stimulating dialogues, both musically and personally.

Philippe Herreweghe: “It seems important to give these musicians the opportunity to express themselves on the label PHI in works they are particularly fond of.”

This is the case of the present recording. Christine Busch, leader of the orchestra of Collegium Vocale Gent, recorded the Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin by J. S. Bach – a work she admires, and she has been playing since her childhood.

Philippe Herreweghe: “Christine Busch inspires by her technical perfection, her strength, her humility, her sense for poetry, as well as by her qualities needed to serve the greatest of all composer.”

After The Four Seasons, the Bach violin concertos, and the sonatas of Matteis, Amandine Beyer presents her vision of the Sonatas and Partitas, one of the pillars of the repertoire, coupled with the solo sonata of Pisendel, the best-known German violinist of his generation, who met Bach at Weimar.

Martzy’s solo Bach, which has acquired iconic status, is well played technically and very satisfying. Deploying the sturdy rhythm and glowing tone that are features of all her recordings, she gives balanced, middle-of-theroad interpretations, unhurried and free of self-indulgence. The three original LPs were well received on both sides of the Atlantic. In America the New York Herald Tribune chose the set as one of its recordings of 1956. In England Edward Greenfield of The Manchester Guardian remarked on Martzy’s ‘luscious vibrato’ but was not bothered by it; and on a later occasion he preferred her set of the Sonatas and Partitas to that of Jascha Heifetz. Desmond Shawe-Taylor of The Observer recommended her recordings ‘for sound musicianship and sustained sweetness of tone’. Interestingly, the question of her vibrato was also brought up by Schonberg after her New York début: ‘Her Bach was anything but purist and “classic” in conception. She approached the music with decisive rhythm and a good deal of vibrato (perhaps a little too much vibrato, in the slow movement; but this is a question of taste).’ Although he was writing about a concerto – and his remarks are borne out by live Martzy recordings of the Bach solo concertos – the points he makes are equally applicable to her unaccompanied Bach. Her interpretations are directly in the tradition of Hungarian fiddlers such as Szigeti, Telmányi and Varga: her native flair and unshowy virtuosity make up for any ‘romantic’ habits in her playing.

From the booklet note Tully Potter, 2011

Widely acknowledged as one of the most technically and intellectually challenging works in the solo violin repertory, only a musician with the wealth of knowledge and virtuosic prowess that Pavlo Beznosiuk possesses could deliver Bach’s masterpieces with such vitality and insight.

Described as an artist with ‘star quality’ whose ‘playing is full of fantasy’ and ‘whose range of ideas seems every time more amazing', Pavlo is one of the most versatile musicians working on the early music scene today.

Celebrated Baroque violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk performs on a period violin with authentic gut stringing.

The Sonatas and Partitas show off every aspect of violin technique; this modern benchmark recording is a masterclass in making the impossible sound, not only possible, but also musically compelling.

The famous Chaconne in d minor is widely regarded as one of Bach’s greatest contributions and has been frequently transcribed for other instruments, most famously by Ferruccio Busoni for piano.

Well known as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster Pavlo has led and directed numerous period instrument orchestras including The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Avison Ensemble.

Pavlo Beznosiuk’s extensive list of recordings is a testament to his popularity as one of the field’s outstanding players.

His latest recording of ‘Handel Concerti Grossi Opus 6’ directing the Avison Ensemble was named Orchestral Choice by BBC Music Magazine and named Download of the Month by MusicWeb.

On this 2-CD set the outstanding young Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan brings his youthful insights to bear in a vibrant new recording of what is undoubtedly the most important collection of pieces for solo violin in musical history, J S Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas.

J.S Bach wrote the Six Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin in 1720, midway through his tenure as Capellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold in Cöthen. Whilst with these works Bach paid homage to a well-established Austrian-German tradition of polyphonic solo violin music, the Sonatas and Partitas go far beyond the compositions of his predecessors in their harmonic language The six works are cast in the two principal forms of the Italian trio sonata as codified by Arcangelo Corelli.

Sergey Khachatryan was born in 1985 in Yerevan, Armenia. In December 2000, when only 15, he won the Eighth International Jean Sibelius competition, and in 2005 he claimed First Prize at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He has performed as soloist with most of the great orchestras of the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the LSO, the New York Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, under the direction of conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Gustavo Dudamel and Gianandrea Noseda. Sergey and his sister Lusine Khachatryan are regular performers at the Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris amongst others. His previous recordings for Naïve include critically acclaimed performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto (V4959), both of Shostakovich’s Concertos (V5025), and the Violin Sonatas of Franck and Shostakovich, with his sister Lusine on the piano (V5122).

‘One player, one instrument, one composer: Bach’s unaccompanied violin music has always been the greatest for any player, young or old. Alina Ibragimova, only 23, is already its equal’ (The Guardian)

‘Alina Ibragimova began to play unaccompanied Bach on the violin, and the hush became silence. This was spontaneous, the first sense that something new could happen’ (The Independent)

The dazzling young virtuoso Alina Ibragimova has enthralled audiences for years with her live Bach performances. Critics have acclaimed her faultless intonation, achingly beautiful tone, superlative technique and a musical wisdom far beyond her years. Now, in this important new recording of Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas for solo violin, Ibragimova brings all these qualities and more to create an interpretation that is both excitingly original and profoundly humble. This is music of unfathomable subtlety, astounding virtuosity and great expressive and architectural beauty.