Customer Reviews

Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo

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After listening to Garrett Fischbach's newly released 2 CD recording of the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin several times, it has now become my favorite recording of these masterpieces by Bach.

For the last 25 years my favorite recording of the unaccompanied Bach has been the one by Henryk Szering, released in 1968 (I owned both the original LP set and the 1996 CD) which I didn't think could be improved upon.

Garrett Fischbach's fresh and very personal view of this music gives an exciting new perspective to these pieces that have been around for over 250 years. His easy and accurate technique allow the full 3 part polyphony to come through without any of the technical struggles apparent on most recordings, with the exception of Heifitz. His choice of using Eudoxa gut core strings (not mentioned in the liner notes) is rare in these days of synthetic strings and gives his sound a very smooth and appropriate Baroque character.

Purists might criticize some of his personal interpretive choices such as his use of ponticello in the fugue of the G Minor Sonata, his occasional use of non-standardized ornamentation, or a few of his tempi, but after a few listenings I can't imagine it being done any other way. It is worth quoting from his personal liner notes: "While the study of antique style is enlightening, an attempt to recreate an `authentic' performance would be contrary to the inventive nature of this music, whose content easily transcends those issues."

All in all I must say this is the most enjoyable recording of unaccompanied Bach I have ever heard from beginning to end, not just because I made the violin used. I believe even people who are not big Bach fans will enjoy it.

David Caron, Violinmaker

This is an excellent recording; very patient, sensitive, precise, and, where appropriate, nicely aggressive. There is not only great skill here, but great intelligence, and the level of musicianship is sustained throughout. A very impressive accomplishment, and highly recommended.

I am a professional songwriter with a vast collection of music of every genre. Were I required to narrow it down to three CDs, I would pick Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, the Best of Dead Can Dance, and Fischbach's Sonatas and Partitas. This is a resoundingly flawless collection of impeccably and passionately rendered Bach masterworks. It has become my evening meditation; I would despair to live without it.

Mr. Fischbach brings out the powerful yet sensitive side of Bach. His technique flourish through the entire pieces, notes dance through the music. One of the "must haves" if you are a Bach fan.

Mr. Fischbach has given us a truly definitive recording of these wonderful pieces. Beatifully performed and recorded, Fischbach has done for the Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo what Glenn Gould did for the Goldberg Variations.

Garrett Fischbach, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violist, here delivers a most insightful traversal of the Bach solo sonatas and partitas. With breathtaking technique and a virtuosic exposition of both the architectural and emotional components of this music, Fischbach positively triumphs. Playing on a modern instrument, he gives a performance of which one can readily imagine Bach approving. And if Bach didn't approve, I wouldn't care, so great is my aesthetic pleasure in listening to these discs. Recorded in the Upper Ridgewood Community Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey, the album offers a beautiful acoustic.

There is nowhere to hide when playing Bach. Each time I listen to this CD, another aspect of the violinist's consummate musicianship is revealed: his technical precision, supple phrasing, control of dynamics, and unique voice delineate the transparent lines of this complex music beautifully. The Partitas and Sonatas are some of my favorite music, and Garrett Fischbach delivers them with dignity and passion in all their humanity.

These great pieces are often studied, often played, and often recorded, but rarely with such clarity and inflection. Fischbach has obviously absorbed so much more than the "industry standard" approach to these works, and applied an intelligence and nuance that is not exceeded by any other recording available, and I've owned dozens of them. Here is a violinist who understands the violin, the music, and himself, and delivers as cohesive a musical statement as can be made. What has he accomplished here? Something that proves a musical mind at work that uses the violin to reveal music, music that is more often simply repeated than expressed. Here is the profound side of Bach, in a two disc set. Put it next to your Gould, another thinker NOT content to regurgitate Bach exactly as he was taught. Buy this CD, or buy my copies of other artists second hand. I have no need for them any more.

This CD was an unexpected treat! Whether it is the rapidly boiling middle variations in the Ciaccona or the ethereal D major "chorale" which follows, the spring of the E major prelude or the intimate line of the a minor Andante, the expressive intent is always fulfilled in this performance. This fellow manages to play these magnificent works with personal commitment without interposing his own ego between the composer and the listener... a rare achievement!! Kudos to Mr. Fischbach and to anyone wise enough to branch out from the PBS-famous-soloist-of-the-day rut and hear this refreshing performer!