One of the most fascinating challenges that any violinist can face is the repertoire for solo violin. In this genre of music, both the musician...

One of the most fascinating challenges that any violinist can face is the repertoire for solo violin. In this genre of music, both the musician and the listener can encounter polyphonic masterpieces performed with minimal means - with only four strings. These pieces often carry as much emotional and musical meaning as works composed for a large orchestra. This rarely represented category in musical literature has always excited the artist Agata-Maria Raatz. She wondered how Bach managed to create such a remarkably complex and demanding harmonic as well as formal structure in his sonatas and partitas for solo violin, which are considered timeless masterpieces of extraordinary brilliance in every detail. Where did he draw his inspiration from? What music did he listen to? And who was he as a person? Bach was not only a genius, but also a human being. Monuments created to honour personalities of genius often obscure their humanity, which encompasses not only the outstanding and special, but also the mundane and prosaic of life.

The album "Echo of BACH" is her personal exploration through the history of solo music for violin, tracing its origins from the early Baroque period to the present. It is a musical journey centred on J. S. Bach, an inspiration to many generations of composers. On this unique path, the great master not only inspires, but is also influenced by the works of other musicians. Among them is a composer who might have been a guidepost for Bach on his musical path. It is the composer and violinist Jean Paul von Westhoff. Bach was 18 years old at the time, while Westhoff died only two years later at the age of 49. The probability is high that they met at that time and the young Bach became familiar with Westhoff's work. For her album she has chosen the Suite No. 5 in D minor. In addition to a piece composed by the artist especially for this CD under the pseudonym Clara Jaz, we also find the work "Cette âme a six ailes tout comme les Séraphins" (This soul has six wings like the Seraphim) composed by the Swiss composer Xavier Dayer especially for Agata-Maria Raatz.