Edna Stern - Bach: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (1999)

Young Israeli pianist Edna Stern has already recorded one album of what might be called extreme Bach arrangements, called Chaconne. This group of preludes and fugues, together with chorale-based pieces by Bach and (in a mysteriously single case) Brahms, is in its way even more extreme than the earlier release, in that Stern is mostly playing Bach's own notes. The three Bach chorales appear in arrangements by Ferruccio Busoni, and it is Busoni that provides the model for Stern's playing even where he is not present. It's not just that Stern plays a modern piano. The preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier, for her, each have their own particular moods, calling forth an entirely different pianistic approach. Tempo is flexible; articulation is varied and often luxuriously legato; the pedal is more or less constantly in action. Bach hasn't been played like this since the days of Russian pianist Samuil Feinberg, who perhaps was part of or close to Stern's pianistic family tree. One thing Stern adds to the style is an emphasis on bass lines, giving the music an organ-like texture. Is it Bach? Only partially; the rest of it is the Romantic adoration of the Baroque. Is it compellingly musical? Depends on your perspective. Plunge in anywhere to sample and determine whether you're on this remarkable young artist's wavelength. The Zig Zag Territoires label's studio sound captures every smear of Stern's pedals.