Pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy was 81 when he recorded these Bach English Suites in 2019; the album appeared in 2021. Physical versions are accompanied by a bonus disc containing Ashkenazy's very first Bach album, a concerto recording from 1965; he then laid Bach aside until the 21st century. Bach was never exactly his specialty, but he has achieved interesting results in Bach's music, and this is still true here, even if there are passages where the fingers don't quite keep up with the spirit. It's notable that he expresses ...
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Pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy was 81 when he recorded these Bach English Suites in 2019; the album appeared in 2021. Physical versions are accompanied by a bonus disc containing Ashkenazy's very first Bach album, a concerto recording from 1965; he then laid Bach aside until the 21st century. Bach was never exactly his specialty, but he has achieved interesting results in Bach's music, and this is still true here, even if there are passages where the fingers don't quite keep up with the spirit. It's notable that he expresses admiration for Glenn Gould's Bach playing, even though his own doesn't sound much like Gould's at all. Like Gould, he breaks up Bach's motoric textures, but instead of pedaling liberally and applying Chopin-level tempo rubato, he manages it all with articulation and slight alterations of the tempo. Here, he offers highly lyrical Sarabandes that don't sound quite like anyone else's. Ashkenazy's gift for the arresting opening gesture is everywhere in evidence, as is a certain X-factor...
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Add this copy of Bach: English Suites 1-3 to cart. $27.93, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2022 by Decca.
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