Bach - Sonatas for Violin and Harpsicord BWV 1014-1019

EJS - Great to see a voice from the past back !  What happened to the old EJS (I think you were EJS previously)?  I hope all your old posts still exist?

Doug

Hi Doug, same me unless somebody forgot to tell me! I suffered from a case of forum-tiredness for a while - it was your Bach post that lured me back. 

EJ

Good! Whatever it takes - it worked.

I know what you mean but I always enjoyed your posts and never failed to learn something new from your knowledge and perspective.  I look forward to more of the same.

Doug

As it goes, only within the last month I was lucky enough to get a recording of these with

Luis Otavio Santos, Pieter-Jan Belder

on Brilliant Classics Complete Bach Edition. Not perhaps World renowned names, but certainly World-class performers for all that. 

This is in addition to the venerable old Grumiaux recording on Philips. In fact I like the newer recording so much that I have deleted the Philips recording. 

These new recordings seem absolutely apt and compelling to me. Just one more reason for me being delighted with the Brilliant Classics Bach Edition.

ATB from George

EJ,

It's been both fun and educational.

It's like discovering the right hifi. i.e.: Need to go through a lot of s&^t to appreciate the ones I love.

I still have a stack of Wagner CDs I need to go through, you know!

Anyone have an opinion on the recording by Michelle Makarski and Keith Jarrett on the ECM label? Aside from the issue of piano vs. harpsichord, that is; Jarrett has alternately used both on various recordings of Bach and Handel. But how does this performance rank against others?

Fred, nothing wrong in my mind with this recording but I generally accept things as they are and am mostly interested in their view of things rather than how it should be.  In a general sense though this album will surely divide the opinion rather severely.  Neither player is introducing anything warm or romantic into this music which should please the historically correct crowd but it never will as the echo back will always focus on the keyboard issue.  On the other side you will hear those who say because of this it comes off as rather cold and ineffectual.

Jarrett is pretty good here though.  In the past I have sometimes felt his technique is not quite up there with a full time classical pianist might be and though he is better suited to maybe Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues.

For what it is I am not complaining.  I have this in my library and am not sorry that it is there.  It gives me just one more perspective which I gladly accept. 

Thanks, Doug. It's all over the map for me with Jarrett's classical output. I love his recording of the Bach recorder sonatas with Michala Petri, on which he plays harpsichord, as well as their album of Handel's recorder sonatas. On the other hand, I'm ambivalent about his WTC on piano, but not because it's on piano but because I prefer other pianists' recordings ... Barenboim, just for one example. But I also don't think it's a failing of technique because the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues are incredibly demanding and I love Jarrett's recording of them.

I also love his recording of Handel's Suites for Keyboard, also played on piano. And I love the recording of Bach's viola da gamba sonatas with Kim Kashkashian, on which Jarrett plays cembalo. I have not heard Jarrett's Goldberg variations, but some of his Mozart concerti are very good.