Bach's Violin Sonatas & Partitas (solo)

[SonicMan46]

Six months ago, I left the post below which showed the 4 recordings owned of these works, 3 ladies and 1 guy - for whatever reason I culled out Barati (maybe wanting to replace him w/ another guy being discussed at the time in the thread?) - instead I'm now listening to Alina Ibragimova (an $18 bargain at BRO HERE) - her playing is quite spartan w/o vibrato - enjoying but not a replacement - an addition!  If so, I've got an 'all girl's club'! - 

Reviews are attached of the previous violinists and also of Alina for those interested - so just curious about new releases (which seen frequent in these pieces) and any re-juggling of the sexes for 'top honors' -     Thanks - Dave

Just perused this thread and amazed at how many old and newer recordings exist and are still coming!  My current 4 sets are shown below - the first two women still favorites for me, especially Ingrid Matthews who grew up in my home town of Winston-Salem, attended the NC School of the Arts HS, then went to Indiana University School of Music; her parents taught at the UNCSA (name change and part of the UNC system here). 

I listened to the first discs of each recording and enjoyed all - also looked at reviews (attached for those interested and trying to decide!) - don't want to add any more but could replace one (Pine or Barati but happy w/ them too); so, will be curious how others have changed there preferences over the years since the start of this thread in 2007!  Dave

     

[Olias]

Reviews are attached of the previous violinists and also of Alina for those interested - so just curious about new releases (which seen frequent in these pieces) and any re-juggling of the sexes for 'top honors' -     Thanks - Dave

Hey, I appreciate the reviews.  I've always loved my Hilary Hahn recordings, and there are many videos of her playing Bach as an encore on a live performance.  However, I like having multiple interpretations on some works.  These six sonatas/partitas are definitely something that can have many different effective versions.

[Mandryka]

I've started to explore Fabio Bondi. Anyone else been there and done that?

[prémont]

I've started to explore Fabio Bondi. Anyone else been there and done that?

No, I have never been that impresssed by his Bach (concertos and violin/harpsichord sonatas with Alessandrini).

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Recently, I had fun with these recordings. Perhaps these have been previously mentioned on the thread.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

This came out in January this year. I've never seen the historian promoted to the same status as the performers on a cover before.  Has to be worth a read and a listen, surely, for anyone interested in what the score means.

https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/08/000147580.pdf

Interesting performance!

[Daverz]

No, I have never been that impresssed by his Bach (concertos and violin/harpsichord sonatas with Alessandrini).

I was particularly impressed with the Bach duo sonatas for personality and beautiful tone of the violin playing, but I'm not a musician.

[atardecer]

I used to not enjoy the sound of solo violin, preferring these works as transcriptions on classical guitar. Interestingly, that has changed recently. I don't know how it happened but I like the violin more now and no longer have a problem with the timbre of the instrument solo. It is odd how these things just change sometimes, seemingly out of nowhere.

Now I'm listening to different violin recordings. I'm focusing at the moment mostly on the Chaconne because I want to find my favorite version of that first. At the moment my favorite Chaconne is by Christian Tetzlaff. I will be listening to more of the names I find in this thread.

[Selig]

Now I'm listening to different violin recordings. I'm focusing at the moment mostly on the Chaconne because I want to find my favorite version of that first. At the moment my favorite Chaconne is by Christian Tetzlaff. I will be listening to more of the names I find in this thread.

Which one? He has recorded it three times: 1993 (Virgin/Erato), 2005 (Hänssler), and 2016 (Ondine). You probably can't go wrong with any of them, but the second recording has a special chaconne I think. The music blogger Rolf Kyburz wrote enthusiastically about it in a comparative review:

My listening sequence is from slow to fast, i.e., long overall timing to shortest. This is #17—and the first one where the D minor theme feels distinctly (more) fluent. Not only that, but Christian Tetzlaff plays with expressive, emphatic agogics and dynamics. He keeps the first beats in bars 2, 3, and 4 short, building tension during the punctuated crotchets. The impression of "fluent" is prominent for the first time when Tetzlaff connects the punctuated crotchet in bar 3 to the one in bar 5 in one single, swaying move, turning the semiquavers into written ornaments. However, also the short, punctuated motifs don't feel static, but entail what one might call "dance swaying" that "pulls the listener along".

From bar 8 onwards, the punctuated quavers further appear to pick up momentum. Highly expressive and emphatic playing—not through vibrato (there is very little), not so much through dynamics (the swaying persists in the softer segment starting in bar 17), but primarily through strong agogics. And every tone appears filled with rhythmic tension. Enthralling!

After the Punctuations...
Naturally, the absence of punctuations from bar 25 onwards moderates the rhythmic / agogic tension. Here, Christian Tetzlaff rather devotes utmost care to dynamics and articulation with every single note, every single motif / phrase, all gentle, and with utmost subtlety. The agogics are still very palpable, but now they don't primarily serve to build tension, but to help sculpting phrases. Up to around bar 55, the artist keeps the tone soft, mellow, even sotto voce. Yet, the articulation is always clear, light.

The "duet" variation starting in bar 57 naturally leads to a more outgoing, joyful tone, and with the advent of the demisemiquavers, we are back in strong, enthralling agogic swaying, to the point where Christian Tetzlaff plays the motifs with a semiquaver, followed by 6 demisemiquavers in a single swing, almost shortening the first note to a demisemiquaver! This is of course not superficial playing, but intentional—fascinating, actually!

After the demisemiquavers, the artist gradually returns to subtle sotto voce playing (bars 81ff). And also here, in bar 84, the second and third beats feel almost like triplets, allowing for a seamless transition to the demisemiquaver cadenza that leads into the arpeggio segment. In the latter, Christian Tetzlaff is far from uniform, let alone mechanical playing. Rather, he puts subtle highlights (minute ritenuti) onto key notes, obviously focusing on the active melody voice (initially the lowers, then the middle voice, gradually entering 3-voice polyphony. Diligent, masterful, in a natural, broad dynamic arch.

D major "Chorale" Segment, D minor Closure
Here again, Christan Tetzlaff begins sotto voce, very intimate, gentle. For once with a vibrato that occasionally is (albeit subtle) a bit nervous—a minor point, really. Even as he gradually raises the volume, his playing, especially the arpeggiated chords, remains careful, diligent, devoid of roughness. The semiquaver variations starting in bar 153 appears as very light, gentle staccato only broadening to a light portato where there are three semiquavers on the same note (bars 161ff), which then naturally evolves into the "doubled" instances (same note on two adjacent strings, bars 165ff), and these lead into the double and triple stop passages.

The second arpeggio segment is the climax of the D major section, hence more intense than the first one. After this, the D minor theme feels almost shy, but again with Tetzlaff's expressive agogic swaying. The "dual string" variation (bars 229ff) is another build-up to the short demisemiquaver cadenza. The latter consists of an ascending and then descending scale. Most artists play that freely, with a culmination on the highest note. Christian Tetzlaff is among the few who avoid highlighting the highest note.

[Jo498]

I only know the early (virgin) Tetzlaff recording and this one is precise but could be described as straightforward to a fault; I think he became a rather different artist in the last 20-25 years than the 1980s "wunderkind" he was back then.

[prémont]

I used to not enjoy the sound of solo violin, preferring these works as transcriptions on classical guitar. Interestingly, that has changed recently. I don't know how it happened but I like the violin more now and no longer have a problem with the timbre of the instrument solo. It is odd how these things just change sometimes, seemingly out of nowhere.

Now I'm listening to different violin recordings. I'm focusing at the moment mostly on the Chaconne because I want to find my favorite version of that first. At the moment my favorite Chaconne is by Christian Tetzlaff. I will be listening to more of the names I find in this thread.

The sound of the violin has also always been a problem for me. Particularly true of modern instruments and repertoire written after ca 1775.

My favorite Bach violin S&P recordings on a modern instrument are precisely Tetzlaff's first recording (and the second recording by Susanne Lautenbacher), the former because of Tetzlaff's pure, almost innocent and virgin-like (pun intended) approach, which reminds a lot of Ryo Terakado's approach on period instrument.

[Mandryka]

The sound of the violin has also always been a problem for me. Particularly true of modern instruments and repertoire written after ca 1775.

My favorite Bach violin S&P recordings on a modern instrument are precisely Tetzlaff's first recording (and the second recording by Susanne Lautenbacher), the former because of Tetzlaff's pure, almost innocent and virgin-like (pun intended) approach, which reminds a lot of Ryo Terakado's approach on period instrument.

Lautenbacher's phrasing is wonderful in BWV 1003, each piece in her hands becomes a whole, unified and coherent and inevitable and perfect. I hadn't played it for about five years or more, but I got it out when I saw your post. I'm glad I did. I'll listen to more tomorrow.

[Daverz]

The sound of the violin has also always been a problem for me. Particularly true of modern instruments and repertoire written after ca 1775.

My favorite Bach violin S&P recordings on a modern instrument are precisely Tetzlaff's first recording (and the second recording by Susanne Lautenbacher), the former because of Tetzlaff's pure, almost innocent and virgin-like (pun intended) approach, which reminds a lot of Ryo Terakado's approach on period instrument.

From a cursory search, it seems that Lautenbacher recorded the S&P at least 3 times

1960 for Musicaphon
1973/4 for Vox
1989 for Bayer

EDIT: The Bayer disc is from a 1964 radio taping in Stuttgart.  So I guess that makes the Vox the second commercial recording.

[atardecer]

Which one? He has recorded it three times: 1993 (Virgin/Erato), 2005 (Hänssler), and 2016 (Ondine). You probably can't go wrong with any of them, but the second recording has a special chaconne I think. The music blogger Rolf Kyburz wrote enthusiastically about it in a comparative review:

Interesting, I've been listening to the first recording. I will definitely check out the other ones. One of the things that really impresses me about Tetzlaff's Chaconne, is how well he makes the work feel like a unified whole. With so many interpretations there feels to me like there is too sharp a contrast between the D minor and D major sections, in some cases this can make the D major section feel anti-climactic. Tetzlaff makes every part of the work feel essential. He makes the two sections work so well together that it allows the full potential and beauty of the D major section to be realized.

[Mandryka]

From a cursory search, it seems that Lautenbacher recorded the S&P at least 3 times

1960 for Musicaphon
1973/4 for Vox
1989 for Bayer

EDIT: The Bayer disc is from a 1964 radio taping in Stuttgart.  So I guess that makes the Vox the second commercial recording.

The Vox is what I was thinking of - I've not heard any of the others.

[prémont]

From a cursory search, it seems that Lautenbacher recorded the S&P at least 3 times

1960 for Musicaphon
1973/4 for Vox
1989 for Bayer

EDIT: The Bayer disc is from a 1964 radio taping in Stuttgart.  So I guess that makes the Vox the second commercial recording.

According to the Bach Cantatas webpage the Bärenreiter-Musicaphon release and the Bayer release contain the same recording from H. Jansen Tonstudio 1960. And I always considered the Vox recording from 1973/74 to be her second.

https://www.bach-cantatas.com/NVP/Lautenbacher-S.htm