Many of us confront a performance of a familiar work with an idealized memory, usually stemming from the impact made upon us by a particular performance, or as the result of personal study.  This places a burden upon each new interpretation to present a level of persuasion capable of motivating the listener to shelve this memory, if only temporarily, in order to appreciate the new artistic vision. Murray Perahia, in this recording of Bach’s Partitas Nos. 1, 5 & 6, successfully accomplished this within moments.  His inimitable sound world coupled with an aristocratic shaping of the melodic and rhythmical facets presents a compelling argument, one that fully engrossed this reviewer.

The Six Partitas of J. S. Bach present the listener with a aural palette analogous to an expansive landscape full of exotic foliage and ornate rock formations.  In the hands of a less capable performer this landscape will be only partially revealed but under the guidance of an exceptional performer it is revealed in all its complexity, one capable of providing a truly mesmerizing experience to the listener.  Perahia is one such exceptional artist, a pianist who throughout his illustrious career has received acclaim for the honesty and sensitivity of his playing.  As a performer Perahia, does not set out to draw undue attention to himself but rather, in the manner of Artur Schnabel and Edwin Fischer, to be the medium through which the vision of the composer is brought to the listener in as a pure a fashion as is artistically possible.  This is not to say that these performances lack personality; there is personality aplenty to be discerned, but it is always guided by the maxims of good taste coupled with a renunciation of superficialities.  Perahia’s interpretations are unfailingly illuminating and compelling.

The present CD is the 2nd in Perahia’s recordings of the complete Partitas.  An earlier release containing Partitas 2, 3, and 4 reaped international acclaim and there is no doubt that this will be echoed in the reaction to the current release.  The inclusion of Partitas 1, 5 and 6 presents works that, though composed only five years apart (1725 and 1730), illustrate the immense diversity of Bach’s musical language.  A world of difference separates the accessible 1st Partita from the greater abstractions found in Nos. 5 and 6.  
Perahia’s consuming interest in Bach arose as an outgrowth of the physical tragedy that hindered his career during the 1990s.  An agonizing and inexplicable swelling in the thumb of his right hand prevented him from performing for many years.  During this period of enforced inaction he took up the Bach scores, studying them away from the keyboard, delving deeply into the intricate melodic and harmonic material that make up this great body of work and developing what, in his own words, he described as an “obsession” with this repertoire.  With the resumption of his performing career Perahia’s insightful interpretations have garnered him a reputation as one of the greats among living Bach interpreters.

While writing this review, I found myself returning again and again to these performances, each listening providing greater enjoyment, appreciation and understanding.  In these magnificent works Bach has created a mixture of the accessible and the erudite.  One need only contrast the playfulness, melodiousness, and grace of the Bb Partita’s Gigue with the Gigues of nos. 5 and 6.  These latter movements are not easy listening, abjuring simple melody and easy harmonic movement, putting in their place an angularity and dynamism that bring to mind the late contrapuntal explorations of Beethoven.  The sheer labyrinthian nature of these fugal movements raises the oft-posed question of how a human mind is capable of realizing a complexity of this degree and turning it into such a deeply satisfying listening experience.  Bach delights in challenging himself, creating subjects for these fugal movements that challenge the composer, the interpreter and the listener.

Bach’s first biographer, J. N. Forkel clearly understood both the nature of this challenge and its successful denouement:

“Bach united with his great and lofty style the most refined elegance and the greatest precision in the single parts that compose the great whole.... He thought the whole could not be perfect if anything were wanting to the perfect precision of the single parts.”

Murray Perahia is one of the leading performers of our day, a poet in sound.  At the age of sixty-two he has become something akin to an elder statesman, an interpreter who can be relied upon to present the best in taste and intelligence.  He does not disappoint in this recording.  For those who love Bach this is essential listening, for those who have a more tenuous relationship to this composer, this recording may be the vehicle that opens the door to a more intimate and appreciative relationship with his magnificent body of work.  Highly Recommended.

© 2009 Phillip Silver