The Best of J.S.Bach

Advantages: Romantic orchestral music
Disadvantages: Only 1 hour - eat quickly for a romantic dinner

...of the exquisite music composed by Bach. Each of three concertos on the album complies with the standard concerto form favored by Bach of three contrasting movements – fast, slow, fast. The first piece, Concerto in E minor, has a fast opening movement in which the solo violin, played by Anne-Sophie Mutter, flirts with the larger orchestral group with an infectious cheerfulness. The second movement is quieter, slower and more reflective where the violin sings out day-dreamily. The piece ends with a fast, happy dance-like movement. Salvatore Accardo joins Anne-Sophie Mutter for the second piece, Concerto for two violins in D minor. This is probably the best known of Bach’s concertos. In the opening Vivace (lively) movement, the two soloists converse together in a quasi fugue. The first violin making a statement answered by the second in an alternating... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Light, clear, could be played over and again
Disadvantages: Perhaps lacks a bit of magic or sparkle

...of the mundane into the enjoyable. For those of you who like details, well here goes: This is 1 CD containing 3 Concertos for Two Harpsichords and Strings, BWV1060-62 by J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750) Date Recorded: 1999 Conductor: Helmuth Rilling Orchestra / Ensemble: Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra Main Performers: Jeffrey Kahane & Robert Levin... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Exquisite
Disadvantages: 1950s recording remastered in 1981

...I can scarcely believe this hasn’t been reviewed before. Were I to be forced to listen to but one piece of music for the rest of my life, then J.S Bach’s Goldberg variations would be my immediate and unqualified nomination, and if I was given the opportunity to choose a specific recording, then the 1956 Glenn Gould would certainly be top of my list. A few notes on the piece of music itself; Written in 1742, just eight years from his death, the Goldberg Variations represents one of the highest points in cultural achievement of any composer in the western tradition. JS Bach came from a large extended family famous for their musical ability, for around a hundred years it was virtually compulsory that every aristocratic family in central Europe employed one of the Bach clan as their principal composer. Bach lived at a crucially... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful