Review

Mr. Kremer is a violonist of consummate refinement and technique -- Daniel J. Wakin, The New York Times - September 11, 2005

Product description

Generally acknowledged as the lonesome peak of the rich literature for the violin, both pleasurable and highly philosophical, JS Bach's Sonatas and Partitas are the greatest challenge for any virtuoso, next to Paganini's "Capricci". In his liner notes Gidon Kremer refers to them as "the Himalayas" for the violin. Bach completed them in 1720, when he was Kapellmeister at the court of Koethen. Three four-part Sonatas alternate with suite-like Partitas consisting basically of dances compiled in a very individual manner. In contrast to the conventional use of the violin as a melody instrument, Bach entrusts it with elaborate polyphonic structures, especially in the Fugues of the Sonatas and in the Chaconne from the second Partita, one of the most overwhelming pieces ever written for any instrument. But the cycle's extraordinary musical quality lies in the width, variety and grandeur built by only a single violin. Personnel: Gidon Kremer (violin), ISBN13: B000A2WF3S ISBN10: B000A2WF3S Material Type: audioCD