After two previously successful discs, devoted to Scarlatti and Clementi, pianist Olivier Cavé pursues a Bach project. Bach never tired of copying by hand the music of others. He reproduced and adapted works, namely Italian music, as a way of achieving personal synthesis and creation. These beautiful transcriptions are precisely at the origin of one of his master pieces, the Italian Concerto.

REVIEW:

Olivier Cavé is a Swiss pianist who worked with Maria Tipo. His program is unusual for a pianist: the transcriptions are rarefied fare even for harpsichordists, but they work beautifully on the piano. Cavé stresses their lyrical qualities: the slow movement of S 974 (after Alessandro Marcello) has a melody that’s worthy of any aria Bach ever wrote; and Cavé phrases it beautifully, adding a limpid, singing tone as well. I haven’t heard such beautiful cantabile piano tone in years—what a great Debussy pianist Cavé would make! The Italian Concerto, too, is more refined and delicate than most piano performances, and the approach works beautifully for the early variation set and the evergreen Capriccio on the Departure of the Beloved Brother. Altogether, an exquisite release.

— American Record Guide