Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin

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No other performance or recording of the Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas for violin has pleased me more than this recording by Szeryng. The playing is effortless, the lines are intact, and every idea is presented in a compelling and developed way. This is Bach that has been eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for years. This recording stands well against more recent ones; even the recording quality is comparable. While other artists have fine recordings of one or several of the movements, this recording by Szeryng distinguishes itself by presenting the entire body of works with uniform sensitivity and understanding.Szeryng is currently, for reasons I do not comprehend, less well known than many other violinists – but he was demonstrably superior to almost all of them. He was one of the five or so greatest violinists of the century. Szeryng’s Bach is in a class by itself. Nobody has Szeryg’s unique combination of musical, intellectual and technical gifts that make him the perfect interpreter of the Bach solo repertiore: he has abundant strength, absolute control of the bow, perfect intonation, an uncanny sense for architecture and structure, the highest intelligence and analytic penetration, and a huge, organ-like tone. Beyond that, he loved this music more than any other. Playing Bach was always an intensely religious experience for Szeryng. That comes across in these recordings. They are not about an individual expressing his feelings or celebrating his subjectivity. They are about a great artist dedicating his entire being, talent and skills to the greater cause inherent in Bach’s music. The result is overwhelming: a spectacular celebration of Bach’s musical transcendence.