Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata; Partita No. 2; English Suite No. 2 (Martha Argerich)

Information

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

• (01) Toccata in C minor, BWV 911
• (02-07) Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826
• (08-13) English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807

Martha Argerich, piano
Date: 1979
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4636042

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Review

An outstanding disc that’s also a highlight of DG’s reissue series The Originals. Here is Bach-playing of direct power and sensitivity, expertly captured by the recording team.

The reissue of Martha Argerich’s recordings, their reappearance in this or that format, testifies to the unique and enduring nature of her magisterial temperament and musicianship. This Bach recital, first issued in 1980, reissued in DG’s Galleria series and partially celebrated (the C minor Partita) in Philips’s Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century, is now revived on DG’s The Originals. Admirers will of course have heard Argerich in the Second Partita, on the wing, so to speak, in a superlative live performance dating from 1978-79 (and with the Bouree from the Second English Suite for an encore) on EMI. Yet even they will surely admit that these slightly later studio recordings carry an extraordinary authority and panache.

Argerich’s attack in the C minor Toccata could hardly be bolder or more incisive, a classic instance of virtuosity all the more clear and potent for being so firmly but never rigidly controlled. Here, as elsewhere, her discipline is no less remarkable than her unflagging brio and relish of Bach’s glory. Again, in the Second Partita, her playing is quite without those excesses or mannerisms that too often pass for authenticity, and at 2'14'' in the Andante immediately following the Sinfonie she is expressive yet clear and precise, her following Allegro a marvel of high-speed yet always musical bravura. True, some may question her way with the Courante from the Second English Suite, finding it hard-driven, even overbearing, yet Argerich’s eloquence in the following sublime Sarabande creates its own hypnotic authority. Her final Gigue is a triumph of irrepressible vitality yet, throughout, you are reminded of the comprehensiveness of Argerich’s Bach, the way his alternations of robust and interior musical thinking are so tellingly and vividly characterised.

It only remains to add that the dynamic range of these towering, intensely musical performances has been excellently captured by DG.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/aug00/bachArgerich.htm
http://www.amazon.ca/Bachs-Toccata-Parita-English-Suite/dp/B00004R7X0
http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Toccata-Partita-English/dp/B00004R7X0

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from Italy and France. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

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Martha Argerich (born June 5, 1941 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine pianist generally considered to be one of the greatest of the second half of the 20th century, although her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career. Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of 8 and made her first commercial recording in 1960. Argerich rose to international prominence when she won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. She is noted for her bravura technique and the raw energy of her interpretations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Argerich

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