Customer Reviews

Bach: Partitas Nos. 2-4

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my opinion, nowhere in the entire output of Johann Sebastian Bach does this very, very great composer display his mastery over counterpoint and harmony better than in the mighty six keyboard partitas. Here is keyboard composition of such stature that only the great late keyboard sonatas of Beethoven are their peer. Working from a group of French dances popular in the era, J.S. developed a half-dozen of the world's most fully realized and fulfilling keyboard exhibitions, complete with virtuosity, magnificent voicing for both hands, and a strain of compositional expertise not matched by another composer since Beethoven.

Murray Perahia returns to Bach's creations after a three-year hiatus due to ill health owing to inflammation in the right hand. His return to recording, and especially to the work of Bach -- where he previously set down excellent versions of the English suites, Goldberg variations and keyboard concertos -- has excited critics on both sides of the Atlantic and probably in the rest of the world's continents. And, once you hear this recording, you will know why such anticipation exists worldwide.

Perahia is, again, a marvel at prestidigitation, voicing, harmony, counterpoint, ornamentation and every other musical affectation you want to name that fits the scores. He plays the left-hand figures, so important in this body of work as a counterbalance to the right-hand melody, equisitiely and, when called for, forcefully. Compared to the often harsh and machinelike manner of music school graduates influenced by a half-century of Glenn Gould worship, Perahia shows the listener there is more to Bach than mere speed and precision. There are, among other assets on display here, vestiges of Bach's own humanity, elegance befitting French dance music, and, perhaps most important, technique second to none mated with an intelligence that makes us think what these may have sounded like had Richter recorded them.

I've spent much of the past decade purchasing, borrowing, checking out from the library and listening to Bach's six partitas. They speak to me anew each time I hear them, especially in advocacy as alternately strong, gentle, brightly sprung and humanistic as put forward here by Perahia. A brief rundown of each sonata reveals:

-- That wonderful Bach counterpoint, so immediately recognizable in the opening phrase of Partita 2's Sinfonia, bowls you over with easygoing persuasion under Perahia. Compared to my reference recording by the great lady of Bach -- Roselyn Tureck, in her concert recording from St. Petersburg in 1995 -- he is equally as authoritative without any of Tureck's idiosyncracies.

-- The flights of fancy that open Partita 3's Fantasia with neither stress nor grief take you to another world, one without the problems of high fuel prices or a presidential election without a candidate good enough to manage outrageous times. You bounce along on his rhythm and are engulfed by the music. Compared to my all-time favorite in this music, by Swede Kristian Svanberg from an out of print Swedish Society CD, Perahia is just as fine and even more intellectual.

-- That fantastic opening Overture in Partita 4, which was the linchpin of Gould's old CBS/Columbia/Sony set, begins in equal metrics and with similar rubato and perhaps more ornaments. So many performers that record the fourth partita take Gould's recording as a reference and Perahia may have too. Still, for the parallel to Gould in the opening, Perahia becomes his own man in the following Allemande and shows you he has plenty to say about this, playing repeats each time as if the music is entirely new, not just a rehash of something we just heard. In this measure, Perahia is the epitome of masterly Bach pianism.

Sony captures these renditions in three-dimensional sound and space that give you an idea of the Berlin auditorium where they were taped in 2007. There are two minor blemishes to this production -- a scant two pages of notes written by Julian Haylock that talk about the music (there are four pages of photos of the pianist) and no track listings on the outside of the back page of the booklet, making reference inconvenient and, in the car, impossible. Otherwise, here is a Bach performance that stands with any ever recorded and begs the question about how soon we will see the other three partitas come from this source and be able to hear Murray do the best of them, the titanic Partita 6. It is so wonderful to have this to look forward to!

I have yet to hear any of Murray Perahia's playing, whether live or recorded, which was anything less than superbly musical. His profound musicality is always what one hears, no matter the technical demands of a piece. His technique, though astonishing, is there to serve the music, not wow the listener. This cd is filled with illuminating insights and many, many moments of incredible beauty.

The six partitas BWV 825-830, the third and last collection of suites, are certainly Bach's most mature achievement in this sphere. The opening movements on their own are sufficient to demonstrate Bach's fertile imagination.

Murray Perahia has chosen to perform the second, third and forth partitas, and his approach conveys a stylistic maturity, structural energy, abundant invention, and a strikingly auspicious style that is almost unequalled in accomplishment.

He retains the traditional framework of the German suite in shaping the four regular movements, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue, yet takes on magnificent liberties with the form.

In the second Partita, prefaced by a Sinfonia in three sections, Perahia begins the first by establishing an atmosphere filled with pathos that surrounds the big chords and dotted rhythms. This is followed by an 'Allemande' in two-part harmony. Perahia conveys its character with unfolding melodic charm, varied sonorities, and musical clarity.
The 'Courante' is presented with a sense of pianistic command which allows the spirited character of the dotted rhythms to unfold. Perahia beautifully allows each theme to "speak", then blending them well within the polyphony, creating an enjoyable experience.
The 'Sarabande', is superbly paced by Perahia, and offers warmly expressed playing that purely respects its musical priorities. The energetic mood and rapid finger work of the 'Rondeau' and 'Capriccio' is both incisive and refined. In each of them, Perahia maintains remarkably clear texturing, and his non-legato touch never becomes harsh or out of character.

In the third Partita, the 'Fantasia' is an expansive two-part invention. Once again Perahia maintains a steady pace throughout and shapes the sense of long line with fluency and cohesion. The 'Allemande' captures every ounce of serenity and compelling sensitivity. Once the 'Courante' begins, Perahia produces the necessary dramatic spirit allowing the dotted rhythms to unfold with a sense of assertiveness, thus creating a thrilling effect.
The 'Sarabande' is conveyed with a solemn, inner-warmth and melancholy atmosphere. As a result the 'Burlesca's' pulsating character becomes most vivid and conveys Perahia's high-wired pianism which continues throughout the 'Scherzo', bringing it to a thrilling close.
Perahia leads into the 'Gigue' with a well chosen tempo, allowing the spirit and temperament of its character time to be enjoyed.

The fourth Partita, begins with a French 'Overture.' Its character is majestically grand, and Perahia makes magnificent use of pedal-points and spacing to convey the opening grandeur.
In the 'Allemande', Perahia projects the harmonic coloring, and the playing is notable for its passion and finesse. The rapid ornamentation is filled with clarity and charm, and the entire performance is shaped as if it was one long phrase.
The same may be said of all the other pieces in these Partitas.

In the hands of Perahia there are never any "holes", never any awkward padding. He makes each movement a complete work of art, and his vibrant and varied sonorities are consistently lyrical.

Througout all three 'Partitas', Perahia chooses tempi that are unhurried, allowing each and every musical detail time to "speak", time to be expressive, and time to be cherished as one of the leading performances ever recorded.

Author: Raymond Vacchino M.Mus. Classical Music Critic

Murray Perahia's new compact disc, featuring Bach's Partitas for Keyboard Nos. 2, 3 and 4, marks the exquisite return to recording of one of the finest pianists currently before the public. After several years battling a recurrence of a debilitating hand condition that severely hampered Perahia in practicing his art, the pianist's latest Bach cd firmly answers any & all questions concerning whether or not he would ever make beautiful music again; this disc of keyboard partitas composed by JSB re-establishes Murray Perahia as one of the finest interpreters of this repertoire in this, or perhaps any other, era.
Perahia's performances here are sophisticted and articulate, very much like the artist himself. He elicits a mesmerizing tone from the piano on this cd, with an immaculate Sony Classical sound that makes disc a clear must have for devotees of Bach's solo keyboard music. I had the good fortune to hear Perahia perform Partita #4 in D-major, BWV 828, at his return to Carnegie Hall this past November. He was spellbinding that evening in recital, and he is thuroughly spellbinding on this new cd. One could not ask for a more welcome return to recording than the one Murray Perahia provides on his new Sony Classical release. We can only hope that an even more recent recurrence of past hand problems ( concerts with the ASMF scheduled for the US in March & April had to be cancelled on the advice of Perahia's doctors,) will not further prevent this gifted performer from recording still more of the glorious keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach! Most highly recommended to one & all!

After reading both the glowing review of Murray Perahia's CD of
the Bach Partitas nos. 2,3 & 4 on the Gramophonr Archive, as well as the customer reviews on Amazon.com of this same CD, I must confess to being disappointed by this CD.

While I'll grant that Murray Perahia's articulation of this
music is superb, as is the way he brings out the counterpoint
in these three Bach Partitas, there is a real sameness in the
dynamic levels Perahia uses as well as a lack of shading.

In contrast I, like another reviewer below, point both to Martha
Argerich's and Rosalyn Tureck's performances of the Bach Partita
no.2 as clearly superior, (Argerich on Deutsche Gramophon, and
Tureck on VAI.)

Too bad really: Murray Perahia recorded a truly wonderful version
of the Bach Goldberg Variations, arguably the best recording of
the Goldberg Variations I know. Similarly, he recorded an outstanding
set of the Bach English Suites.

Bach means something unique to every listener. The instruments he wrote for have changed radically since his day--many of them are rarely played in the form Bach knew. But his music is so essential, so elemental, that it works successfully almost everywhere. Murray Perahia makes Bach sound as if the piano was the instrument he had in mind all along.

As others attest, Perahia has a beautifully clear articulation. Voicing is always clear and counterpoint is easy to follow--even at its most complex. These performances are expressive without veering into the indulgent. The performance of Partita IV (a personal favorite) is irresistible. The overture has a real sense of announcement and the final gigue will get you out of your seat. The recording has just the right amount of distance and intimacy.

Bach has more than a single performer can encapsulate. This recording deserves to be discussed alongside the best.

Perahia doing Bach as Perahia does Bach - very clean and very smooth. Very un-Gould. If Gould uses the piano to try and emulate the detached sound of a harpsichord (always sans pedal), Perahia is almost the opposite. Marvellous voicing and counterpoint.

My only criticism (and a substantial one) is that the sound on CD is harsh, grainy and essentially unpleasant, especially when compared to the beautiful rich natural sound of Perahia playing Bach on Sony's hi-rez SACD discs (the Goldbergs, the Piano concertos etc). If you have an SACD player, you are probably much better off waiting for this to come out on SACD in hi-rez, rather than getting this lossy version of the original master recording which has unfortunately been downsampled to fit onto CD.

This is just a repeat of my review of the other volume of Perahia's partitas because everything that was true of that volume is also true of this one.
I'll keep this short and sweet. As Moe, the bartender on "the Simpsons" put it (if I remember correctly): "Compared to this, perfection is crap." I'm sure you already know how great the music is, so I only need to add that the performances are simply magnificent (how Perahia makes the piano sing!) and the recording as realistic as any I've ever heard. The same comments apply to he companion volume of partitas. Buy them both.

My first ever live contact with Murray Perahia's art took place some three years ago when he gave a highly acclaimed recital during the "George Enescu" International Festival - 2007, in Bucharest. The first piece in the program on that occasion was Bach's Partita No.4 in D major BWV 828 (recorded here), so one can say that I properly made the acquaintance with the artistry of the great American pianist through a magic door, opened by none else than Johann Sebastian Bach and its powerful music. And for me that occurrence is not simply a casual thing, as long as Murray Perahia, worldwide recognized as an indisputable Bach maestro among living pianists, considers him (like I do) the supreme authoritative figure in music and has recorded a vast amount from his keyboard output (which found a privileged place in my CD collection). And the coincidences don't stop here: my first ever CD collection items were Perahia's two CDs comprising the complete set of English Suites, released more than a decade back by Sony Classical. The same label issued recently two further recordings in Perahia's Bach series: the complete set of keyboard Partitas, of which this was the first (Partitas 2, 3 & 4).

Speaking about Bach's music seems quite impossible for me. It's like speaking about the Milky Way or the Michelangelo's Pietà - they simply exist for ever and charm for ever without any need to explain them. Bach's music is overwhelming and all-embracing by itself, as a mysterious Universe unceasingly pulsating and breathing so much humanity. You can only marvel at it and let it traverse you without any other comment. Its logical and mighty structures - apparently monotone but so full of substance - unfold Bach's consummate knowledge of the sounds' science. But there is more than science or even art. It is a point of departure for a fabulous inward travel in searching ourselves, our most intimate thoughts, feelings, acts. Its apparent simplicity gets mere transcendence and mediates rather a mystic ecstasy. However, this giant of the baroque music, also known as the "modest cantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig", composed permanently watching God. Therefore, his music gathers solemnity, fervour, serenity, passion, humility and much love.

There is always required a great musician - and Murray Perahia is one of them - to recreate compellingly this mysterious and enthralling Universe in front of us, the inhabitants of the XXIst century.

By aiming at completing the Partita's cycle Murray Perahia consolidates his reputation as an exquisite Bach interpreter and imposes a reliable point of view regarding the need for a fresh approach in reading Bach's work. Five stars!

Over the past decade or so, Murray Perahia has developed into one of the finest Bach pianists around. Perhaps one needs to suffer to appreciate Bach fully--surely this great pianist has had his share of suffering due to the debilitating hand injury which has kept him from the concert hall and recording studios in recent years. In any case, just as his English Suites, Keyboard Concerti, and Goldberg Variations set new standards in this repertoire, this recently released disc of Partitas 2, 3 and 4 joins the select list of desert-island Bach recordings. To put it simply, these are the most consistently imaginative renditions of these demanding works I have heard. Perahia's clarity of articulation and rhythmic control rival Gould's, while his sensitivity to mood, style and the subtleties of phrasing surpass Tureck, Meyer, Kapell (in no. 4), Schiff, Weissenberg, Tipo, and a host of other leading exponents of this repertoire.

From beginning to end, this recital is pure joy--and it is captured in extraordinarily vivid, mellifluous sound. Do not hesitate. And hope (pray?) for a sequel: my hunch is that if one is vouchsafed us, it will surpass even Lipatti in Partita 1, Tipo in 5 and Gould in 6 (my current benchmarks).