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Bach: Violin Sonatas & Partitas / Kuusisto
BIS

Bach: Violin Sonatas & Partitas / Kuusisto

$17.49
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Details

Composer
BACH, J.S.
Artist
Jaakko Kuusisto
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Mar 01, 2019
Catalog #
BIS-2197
UPC
7318599921976

About

There are many questions surrounding Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Six Solos for violin’, or the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, as they are usually called today. When did he compose them, and why, and for whom? In what circumstances were they performed? And why would a master of polyphony choose to write for a melody instrument with limited scope for polyphony or chords? We can only guess at the answers – which makes the works all the more fascinating. The legendary violinist George Enescu famously described the set as ‘the Himalayas of violinists’, but for more than 200 years they were primarily regarded as pedagogical exercises rather than compositions worthy of the concert hall. Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann tried to popularize them by making versions with piano accompaniment, while Busoni did away with the violin altogether in his transcription of the famous Chaconne from Partita No. 2. But since Yehudi Menuhin made the first complete recording of the Sonatas and Partitas, between 1929 and 1936, they have become a staple during violin recitals, on disc and in concert. Fascinating performers and audiences alike with their architectural perfection as well as their emotional range, these are works that lend themselves to very different interpretations, and on this recording it is the Bach of Finnish violinist Jaakko Kuusisto we hear. Himself a composer – as well as violinist and conductor – Kuusisto remembers beginning to study individual movements from the set at the age of ten. The music has been with him ever since, and to him ‘no other works for the violin provide a higher challenge or greater beauty’.

REVIEW:

Kuusisto plays with an offhanded, technical nonchalance, as if there were neither any of the traditional expectations or technical hurdles to overcome. Everything sounds so organic and natural that listening becomes increasingly enjoyable. The musical detail can certainly be heard, yet Kuusisto does not force that conspicuously on the listener.

– Klassikheute.com (Germany)

Tracklist 31 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. Adagio 04:00
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Adagio
    Duration
    04:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  3. 2 II. Fuga: Allegro 05:03
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Fuga: Allegro
    Duration
    05:03
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  4. 3 III. Siciliana 02:50
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Siciliana
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  5. 4 IV. Presto 03:26
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Presto
    Duration
    03:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  6. 5 I. Allemanda 05:00
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allemanda
    Duration
    05:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  7. 6 II. Double 04:00
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Double
    Duration
    04:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  8. 7 III. Corrente 03:18
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Corrente
    Duration
    03:18
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  9. 8 IV. Double: Presto 03:38
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Double: Presto
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  10. 9 V. Sarabanda 04:16
    Track
    9
    Title
    V. Sarabanda
    Duration
    04:16
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  11. 10 VI. Double 03:26
    Track
    10
    Title
    VI. Double
    Duration
    03:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  12. 11 VII. Tempo di Bourrée 03:29
    Track
    11
    Title
    VII. Tempo di Bourrée
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  13. 12 VIII. Double 03:00
    Track
    12
    Title
    VIII. Double
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  14. 13 I. Grave 04:37
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Grave
    Duration
    04:37
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  15. 14 II. Fuga 07:19
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Fuga
    Duration
    07:19
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  16. 15 III. Andante 04:56
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Andante
    Duration
    04:56
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  17. 16 IV. Allegro 06:02
    Track
    16
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    06:02
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  18. Disc 2
  19. 1 I. Allemande 04:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allemande
    Duration
    04:56
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  20. 2 II. Courante 02:41
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Courante
    Duration
    02:41
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  21. 3 III. Sarabande 04:43
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Sarabande
    Duration
    04:43
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  22. 4 IV. Gigue 03:50
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Gigue
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  23. 5 V. Ciaccona 13:22
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Ciaccona
    Duration
    13:22
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  24. 6 I. Adagio 04:33
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Adagio
    Duration
    04:33
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  25. 7 II. Fuga 09:38
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Fuga
    Duration
    09:38
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  26. 8 III. Largo 03:33
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Largo
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  27. 9 IV. Allegro assai 04:47
    Track
    9
    Title
    IV. Allegro assai
    Duration
    04:47
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  28. 10 I. Preludio 03:50
    Track
    10
    Title
    I. Preludio
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  29. 11 II. Loure 03:56
    Track
    11
    Title
    II. Loure
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  30. 12 III. Gavotte en rondeau 02:55
    Track
    12
    Title
    III. Gavotte en rondeau
    Duration
    02:55
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  31. 13 IV. Menuet I and II 04:17
    Track
    13
    Title
    IV. Menuet I and II
    Duration
    04:17
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  32. 14 V. Bourrée 01:31
    Track
    14
    Title
    V. Bourrée
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
  33. 15 VI. Gigue 01:48
    Track
    15
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jaakko Kuusisto