Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 22 in B flat minor, BWV867

“The world's leading viol consort” The Independent

“If you prefer Bach on the piano served up in heaping Romantic portions, accompanied by dollops of creamy tone, tapered phrases and languishing tenutos, Edna Stern's ravishing pianism will turn your ears to jelly. Few modern pianists can pull off this approach, but Stern's sincerity, conviction and masterful control of the instrument prove utterly disarming. Her wide array of legato pedallings in the Busoni and Brahms choral prelude arrangements spill over into a selection of Preludes and Fugues from TheWell-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, without ever obscuring the profile and direction of Bach's contrapuntal lines. Her unpressured fluidity in the F minor Fugue is a case in point. Likewise, the A major Fugue's cross-rhythmic phrases take on a curvaceous, playful character, while the B flat major Prelude's arpeggiated patterns unsystematically alternate between blurry and dry. Stern's rubato in the E minor Fugue dismantles the work's toccata-like drive, as if Pablo Casals's cello bow was guiding her fingers. And in contrast to more overtly virtuoso, incisive renditions of the G major Prelude and Fugue, Stern relaxes within her chosen fast tempi. Perhaps her ordering the programme according to key relationships explains how easily each work slips into the next. In short, a disc that will cause unrepentant pianophiles to jump for joy while historically informed performance mavens duck for cover.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“If you prefer Bach on the piano served up in heaping Romantic portions, accompanied by dollops of creamy tone, tapered phrases and languishing tenutos, Edna Stern's ravishing pianism will turn your ears to jelly. …a disc that will cause unrepentant pianophiles to jump for joy while historically informed performance mavens duck for cover.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2009

"Surely the Bach Preludes shouldn't prick like a thousand needles; the fugues can't possibly survive the savage dynamic range unleashed on them here by Mustonen, yet they do, and your appreciation of the music is enhanced in the process… Mustonen's delicacy, the feather-light touch, the luminous beauty of the tone are all utterly ravishing, and Shostakovich's quirkiness is respected rather than exaggerated." Radio 3 Disc of the Week