David Fray - Bach: Partita BWV 828, French Suite BWV 812, Boulez: Notations, Incises (2007)

Fray manages to bring new life to work by composers old and new. He's much more than a mere virtuoso. His playing always has bags of personality: its warmth and passion and grace and power don't just invest the notes and chords he plays with depth, but perform that most difficult trick for any interpreter to pull off: he makes the listener feel these pieces have never been heard before. One of the Boulez movements is actually marked "Mécanique et très sec", though this may well be a tongue-in-cheek gesture on the part of the composer---and it's true that much of what is sometimes dismissively called 'plink-plonk' post-dodecaphonic music can seem arid and academic when less talented pianists perform it. Not under Fray's fingers. Whether it's Bach or Schubert or Boulez, his playing gives new lustre to any score.