Murray Perahia
Bach: Partitas 1, 5 & 6
Sony Music Entertainment

Since the late 1990s, the artistically insightful Grammy-winning conductor/pianist Murray Perahia has forged a solid reputation with his interpretations of works by the timeless classical music performer Johann Sebastian Bach, a leading Baroque organist and composer that Perahia is ardently passionate about. “There is simply no music without him,” he proclaims. On the heels of his Bach: Partitas Nos. 2-4, Sony Classical issued his latest output, Bach: Partitas 1, 5 & 6, to unanimous acclaim. Both sets touch upon the six partitas (essentially an instrumental dance movement or suite) created by Bach between 1725 and 1730, his first pieces to be published.

In less than 70 minutes, Bach bristles with some fine and joyous piano musicianship from Perahia. The set is partitioned into three partitas, with Partita No. 1 played in B-Flat major, No. 5 in G major and No. 6 in E Minor. Some unexpected and notable features are found in some of Perahia’s elegant readings, such as the Corrente’s pseudo sonata framework in Partita No. 1, the triplet rhythm of the Allemande in Partita No. 5, and the intricately complicated Gigue of Partita No. 6.

Exhilarating, lighthearted affairs with serious technical ability essentially sums Bach: Partitas 1, 5 & 6 in a nutshell. Bach once said that these partitas were “offered to music lovers in order to refresh their spirits,” and Murray Perahia performs an exemplary job of connecting the modern audience spiritually to one of the greatest composers known to mankind.

by Jeff Boyce