Rafal Blechacz - Johann Sebastian Bach (2017)

A new statement from Rafa Blechacz, one of the finest young pianists of his generation

Celebrated by his Chopin awarded recordings and cited by critics as one of those talents that only come along every few decades - has now turned to Bach

The now 31-year-old winner of the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition, has been immersed in Bach since his childhood and has cultivated a strikingly natural eloquence in his mature interpretations of the composer's keyboard works.

This is the perfect album to show his versatility and fine knowledge of the works of the composer

Rafal's interpretation flows not least from his formative experience as an organist. Young Rafa cut his musical teeth on Bach s principal instrument, playing organ for several years before turning full time to piano. In addition to playing for services at the main church in his hometown of Nak o nad Noteci , he also gave occasional recitals there long after becoming a pianist.
I was fascinated by the organ, and many of my earliest musical memories are of listening to the organ in church, he recalls.

This album includes some real hit pieces like the Italian Concerto, one of Blechacz s signature pieces (… his reading was, above all, a model of textural transparency Portland Press Herald ), and the Partita No. 1 (… it was immediately clear from the first sweet, liquid notes that Blechacz is a musician in service to the music, searching its depths, exploring its meaning and probing its possibilities Washington Post ) or Jesu Joy of Men s Desiring

After a sabbatical in 2016 to finish his PhD in Philosophy in Poland, his schedule in 2017 will bring him to the USA, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, France and more.

TRACKLIST
01. J.S. Bach: Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971-1. (Allegro)
02. J.S. Bach: Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971-2. Andante
03. J.S. Bach: Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971-3. Presto
04. J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825-Prelude
05. J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825-Allemande
06. J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825-Courante
07. J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825-Sarabande
08. J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825-Menuet I & II
09. J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825-Gigue
10. J.S. Bach: 4 Duettos-1. Duetto In E Minor, BWV 802
11. J.S. Bach: 4 Duettos-2. Duetto In F Major, BWV 803
12. J.S. Bach: 4 Duettos-3. Duetto In G Major, BWV 804
13. J.S. Bach: 4 Duettos-4. Duetto In A Minor, BWV 805
14. J.S. Bach: Fantasia & Fugue In A Minor, BWV 944-Fantasia
15. J.S. Bach: Fantasia & Fugue In A Minor, BWV 944-Fugue
16. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Fantasia
17. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Allemande
18. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Corrente
19. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Sarabande
20. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Burlesca
21. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Scherzo
22. J.S. Bach: Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827-Gigue
23. J.S. Bach: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, Cantata BWV 147-Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring (Arr. For Piano By Myra Hess)