Eloquence Classics

Purists might squirm but purists should think again. As Raymond Tuttle says in his background notes to this unique release, ‘When purists complain about Bach played on the piano, they also need to be reminded that, as these five concertos were not written for the keyboard in the first place, one might argue that any performance at all is inauthentic. Fortunately, most of us don’t have to worry about such matters and can enjoy Bach’s second-hand inspirations which are arguably superior to most composers’ first-hand efforts!’

Besides that, the playing here is pure joy and it allows the listener to delve into three decades of Bach playing, from 1965 (Ashkenazy’s recording of the D minor Concerto, one of his first) to 1994 (Olli Mustonen’s of the D major). Two specially wondrous moments are Andras Schiff’s sheer unmitigated joyfulness for the first movement of the A major and Alicia de Larrocha’s implacable slow movement for the F minor (used famously in the Woody Allen film ‘Hannah and her Sisters’).