The Music Beat

Music news from the Express-News.

Ready for Bach


Bach Grimaud.jpg


Hélène Grimaud, piano

Deutsche Grammophon

French pianist Hélène Grimaud once had a teacher who advised her to incorporate J.S. Bach’s music into her daily life. Grimaud, who now lives in Switzerland, took the advice.

But Grimaud did not record Bach early in her career, choosing instead composers that included Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Bartok, Brahms, Beethoven and Chopin.

At 39, she finally was ready. She certainly sounds ready, with an intelligent intermingling of “Well-Tempered Clavier” preludes, a concerto and transcriptions of Bach works originally composed for other instruments.

The solo music mixes maddening fast preludes with dreamy, slow selections. The BWV 1052 concerto, backed by the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, turns adroitly on a dime whenever the melodic phrasing shifts to a different tempo.

The breathtaking selection, though, is the Chaconne in d minor, originally written for violin, but transcribed for piano by composer Ferruccio Busoni. The cascading emotions pour out of Grimaud’s performance. A better Bach piano recital is not likely for some time.

Categories: Classical music

David Hendricks

David Hendricks