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Bach Transcribed
Johann Sebastian Bach

Alessio Bax

Bach Transcribed

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Signum Classics
UPC: 0635212015629
Catnr: SIGCD 156
Release date: 01 July 2009
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Label
Signum Classics
UPC
0635212015629
Catalogue number
SIGCD 156
Release date
01 July 2009
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
NL

About the album

It is a sign of the brilliance of J.S. Bach that great pianists have chosen to recreate and reinterpret his works in so many ways. From Wilhelm Kempff’s subtle resetting of Wachet Auf to Ferruccio Busoni’s virtuosic grandeur in the Violin Partita Chaconne, these performances by star pianist Alessio Bax capture the reverence and resplendence of Bach’s music in thirteen great transcriptions.

Alessio Bax is universally praised for his lyrical playing and insightful interpretations. On April 23rd 2009 he was awarded the Avery Fischer Career Grant, presented once a year to talented instrumentalists who show great potential for solo careers, following in the footsteps of previous winners Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn and Gil Shaham.
Overweldigende transcripties van Bach
Vandaag de dag is het opmerkelijk om te beseffen dat er een tijd was waarin Johann Sebastian Bach vooral werd gezien als een geleerde in plaats van geïnspireerde componist, die muziek componeerde voor publiek met een wezenlijk koude en academische smaak. Pas in de 19e eeuw werden musici zich bewust van de unieke diepgang en spirituele dimensie van zijn allesomvattende kunstwerken, een kleine stap op weg naar zijn status als de ware vader van de muziek. In zijn experimentele werken vertoont Bach een improvisatorische vrijheid en durf die zijn muziek een tijdloze geloofwaardigheid geeft.

Het is een teken van de genialiteit van Bach dat grootse pianisten ervoor gekozen hebben om zijn werken op veel verschillende manieren opnieuw te creëren en te interpreteren. Van Wilhelm Kempffs subtiele bijstelling van Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme tot aan Ferruccio Busoni’s virtuoze pracht in de chaconne uit de Partita No. 2 in d klein, deze uitvoeringen van sterpianist Alessio Bax vangen de eerbied voor en de luister van Bachs muziek in dertien geweldige transcripties.

Alessio Bax wordt algemeen geprezen om zijn lyrische spel en inzichtelijke interpretaties. Zijn uitvoeringen worden door The Independent beschreven als “real music-making that makes its own world on stage and invites the audience in as guests.” Hij heeft al met meer dan tachtig orkesten opgetreden.

Artist(s)

Alessio Bax (piano)

Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face on five continents, not only as a recitalist and chamber musician, but also as a concerto soloist who has appeared with more than 150 orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Sydney, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van...
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Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face

on five continents, not only as a recitalist and chamber musician, but also as a concerto soloist who has appeared with more than 150 orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Sydney, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden.

Since 2017, he has been the Artistic Director of the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival, a Summer Music Festival in the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany. He appears regularly in festivals such as Seattle, Bravo Vail, Salon-de-Provence, Le Pont in Japan, Great Lakes, Verbier, Ravinia, and Music@Menlo.

Bax constantly explores many facets of his career. He released his eleventh Signum Classics album, Italian Inspirations, whose program was also the vehicle for his solo recital debut at New York’s 92nd Street Y as well as on tour. He has also toured Spain with violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Steven Isserlis. Bax and his regular piano duo partner, Lucille Chung, gave recitals at New York’s Lincoln Center and were featured with the St. Louis Symphony and Stéphane Denève. He has also presented the complete works of Beethoven for cello and piano with cellist Paul Watkins in New York City. Further highlights of previous seasons were his debuts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra Belfast, Polish Baltic Philharmonic Gdansk and his return for the fourth time for two recitals at the historic Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires festival as well as return appearances at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival with the Dallas Symphony and Fabio Luisi conducting.

Bax revisited Mozart’s K. 491 and K. 595 concertos, as heard on the recording Alessio Bax Plays Mozart, for debuts with the Boston and Melbourne Symphonies, both with Sir Andrew Davis, and with the Sydney Symphony, which he led from the keyboard. Other highlights include his Auckland Philharmonia debut, concerts in

Israel, a Japanese tour featuring dates with the Tokyo Symphony and a high-profile U.S. tour with Berlin Philharmonic principal flautist Emmanuel Pahud. Previous seasons also saw Bax make his solo recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, which aired live on BBC Radio 3, and gave concerts at L.A.’s Disney Hall, Washington’s Kennedy Center, and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

He was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and four years later he received both the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award and the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists.

Bax’s celebrated Signum Classics discography includes Beethoven’s Hammerklavier and Moonlight Sonatas (a Gramophone “Editor’s Choice”); Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, Bax & Chung, a duo disc with Lucille Chung; Alessio Bax plays Mozart, recorded with London’s Southbank Sinfonia; Alessio Bax: Scriabin & Mussorgsky (named “Recording of the Month ... and quite possibly ... of the year” by MusicWeb International); Alessio Bax plays Brahms (a Gramophone “Critics’ Choice”); Bach Transcribed and Rachmaninov: Preludes & Melodies (an American Record Guide “Critics’ Choice 2011”). Recorded for Warner Classics, his Baroque Reflections album was also a Gramophone

“Editor’s Choice.” He performed Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata for Daniel Barenboim in the PBS-TV documentary Barenboim on Beethoven: Masterclass, available on DVD from EMI.

At age 14, Bax graduated with top honours from the conservatory of Bari, his hometown in Italy, and after further studies in Europe, he moved to the United States in 1994. A Steinway artist, he lives in New York City with pianist Lucille Chung and their daughter, Mila. He was invited to join the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory in 2019.


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Composer(s)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.  Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.  
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Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.


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