Risto Lauriala - Bach Transcriptions for Piano (2000)

Although there has always been some uproar about transcribing Bach's music, especially his keyboard music to piano, I see the Bach transcriptions as an eloquent homage to the old master. Arrangements and transcriptions have been made for over two hundred years and for the reason that Bach's music will always be effective on other mediums. Busoni and Godowsky were perhaps the greatest transcribers, with Liszt following closely behind. The piano is such a versatile instrument and can please both the Baroque enthusiasts and the Romantic lovers. Only the piano can imitate the fleeting polyphony and yet transform the music with sonorous beauty.

This disc contains a stellar, almost perfect, selection of Bach arrangements. The works featured here are not only played with profundity but also nobility and feeling, characteristics sometimes absent from the automaton pianists out there. Risto Lauriala applies both a fidelity to Bach and an understanding of the Romantic emphasis of these transcriptions. I think Lauriala's Romantic expressive power tends to take control, but this is not a bad thing. Bach's music is not harmed by this; it's instead taken to a new level.

Saint-Saens's arrangement of the overture of BWV 29 is given an excellent treatment with just the right balance between Baroque and Romantic flavoring. The piano colors the ecstatic polyphony quite well. I find this arrangement the safest of them all; it should please Bach and piano fans alike. Siloti's arrangement of the Adagio from BWV 1018 is a melancholy escapade into gorgeous continuous melodies. Lauriala plays with feeling and an unerring stream of contemplation. This is no robotic interpretation but one of human thought. Siloti's transcription of the Chaconne from BWV 1005 is, unfortunately, not as impressive as Busoni's masterful efforts. Musically, though, this music is one of Bach's most inspired creations and perhaps the best on this disc. This is a 16 minute epic work with glorious harmonic variations and endlessly sublime lines of music. Lauriala plays to the best of his ability, but the transcription is frankly inferior to Busoni.

I also prefer Busoni's transcription of the Toccata and Fugue BWV 565 over Reger's here. But Naxos is still to be commended for placing a lesser known arrangement in the spotlight. Don't get me wrong, Reger still makes great drama and technical splendor out of this work. The music is impossible to dislike, and Reger clarifies and carefully embellishes the fugal voices with skill. The two major triumphs of this disc are saved for last, however, with d'Albert's Passacaglia and Kabalevsky's Dorian arrangement. The Passacaglia in C minor is a colossal work of grandiose variations on an awesome bass line. d'Albert's transcription employs more daring than the previous arrangements. Bass doublings and rich harmonies lend to making this piece an imposing pianistic tour-de-force. The last transcription, though, is my favorite. Kabalevsky's efforts with the 'Dorian' Toccata and Fugue are simply monumental. The toccata has all the majesty of Bach and the rhythmic vigor of a wonderful toccata. But the Fugue, with one of those simple but ingenius subjects of Bach, is taken on a Romantically-infused ride that leaves me breathless after each trip. Lauriala showcases his reflective side in the exposition; d'Albert's arrangement is sufficient enough that one can hear the entrance of new voices. But once the fugue has plunged into more episodes and restatements, the main subject is augmented and given increasing organ sonority on the piano. Indeed, the piano takes the throne as the king of instruments here. I don't even think the organ can rival the depth of the piano's lower registers. This is an absolute gem in the Bach piano arrangements and the most unique transcription on this disc.

Bottom line: Bach is simply exalted through the piano. In these transcriptions, his music retains all the natural polyphony and yet it experiences a metamorphosis from the Romantic spirit that manages to express Bach's ideas as never before. Risto Lauriala's playing is distinguished for fusing Romantic passion with the intellectual complexity of Bach. If that wasn't enough, there are two masterpieces of transcriptions that beg my full endorsement: d'Albert's Passacaglia and Kabalevsky's 'Dorian.'