Itzhak Perlman - Bach: Sonatas & Partitas For Solo Violin

Triple LP

Itzhak Perlman, the supreme violinist of his time, performs the supreme works for unaccompanied violin. In preparing the Bach Sonatas and Partitas, Perlman sought authenticity through the score itself, not through musicological research: "Music is a language, and, performed responsively, with musical logic as guide, it will make sense."

Bach's Sonatas and Partitas are a landmark not only of the solo violin repertoire but of all music history. No composer before or since has created a comparable architectural miracle, or made better use of the violin's polyphonic capabilities, than did Bach in this set of six works. The improvements in instrument-making introduced by such experts in the field as Niccolò Amati and his pupil Antonio Stradivari meant that performers and composers could now push the tone and power of the violin to bold new limits.

The Second Partita also includes a Chaconne which appears to stand outside space and time. Its complexity, power and splendor make it in a way the keystone of the entire musical edifice — a magnificent set of variations on a single theme which exploits the violin's full harmonic and contrapuntal potential. While the great virtuosos of the nineteenth century, Paganini chief among them, expanded the instrument's technical capabilities, Bach had already established its limits in terms of polyphony.

 

Side 1

Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001

I. Adagio

II. Fuga: Allegro

III. Siciliana

IV. Presto

Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004

I. Allemanda

II. Courante

Side 2

III. Sarabande

IV. Gigue

V. Ciaccona

Side 3

Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002

I. Allemanda

II. Double

III. Courante

IV. Double

V. Sarabande

VI. Double

VII. Bourree

Side 4

VIII. Double

Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006

I. Preludio

II. Loure

III. Gavottee en rondeau

IV. Menuet I

V. Menuet II

VI. Bouree

VII. Gigue

Side 5

Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003

I. Grave

II. Fuga

III. Andante

IV. Allegro

Side 6

Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005

I. Adagio

II. Fuga

III. Largo

IV. Allegro assai

Customer Reviews (4.00 Stars) 1 person(s) rated this product.

Fairly Quiet Pressing posted on 10/07/2021 4 Stars Reviewer: Brian VanPelt The pressing is at issue here. I ordered 2 of this album, and all 6 disks had visible surface issues. 2 of the disks have medium scratches, but all 6 disks have faint scratches throughout the entire sides of all 6 disks. My guess is these are the marks that happen when a record is produced conveyor-belt style, but I do not know the record business. These micro scratches are almost never audible, but there are more light clicks than should happen on a record that absolutely needs to be dead quiet. After all, this this music has only 1 violin as the only sound. Another issue is something that might not bother those with headphones. On my stereo, I cannot locate, in space, where the sound of the violin is coming from - it is nebulous. Overall, I'd say that the music is great, the recording is great - Perlman must have been in a cavernous room when he recorded this. The vinyl looks nasty up close, but is generally quiet.

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