Murray Perahia - Murray Perahia plays Bach Keyboard Concertos (2011)

Exclusive Sony Classical pianist Murray Perahia releases this collection of the keyboard concertos of J.S Bach. Celebrated by his fans and media alike on first release, several of the concertos have been unavailable for some time and make a welcome return to the catalogue, The set contains some of Perahia’s all-time best-selling recordings. The initial releases of these recordings of the Concertos Nos. 1-7 have sold in excess of 30,000 units in the UK alone, Murray Perahia’s recording of Bach’s Solo Keyboard Partitas 1,5 & 6 (88697565602) won the 2010 BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Instrumental Recording.

As with all of Murray Perahia’s recordings, there is hardly a note out of place: The passagework is clean, the articulation crisp, the tone light and bouncy, the dynamics restrained, and the reverence for the composer always present. In the solo concertos in particular there is some very beautiful playing when the pianist’s technical accomplishment is paired with his good taste and musical insight. This makes for some very enjoyable listening in, for example, the jubilant opening movement of the A-Major Concerto, the more stern and serious Adagio in the D-Minor Concerto, and the hauntingly stunning Largo of the F Minor. There are moments, however, that lack energy and are fussy in their concentration on certain details; the last movement of the A-Major Concerto and the opening movement of the E-Major Concerto are two examples. Moving on, the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto is one of the highlights of the set. The pianist, along with his two fine partners, violinist Kenneth Silloto and flutist Jaime Martin, play this as true chamber music. Though the opening movement is taken a bit on the slow side for my taste, the musicians shape it so well that this never is allowed to inhibit the flow of the movement. The cadenza sees Perahia at his most flamboyant—he truly lets go—as excited to romp through the cadenza as any pianist I’ve heard.