For his album of J.S. Bach's keyboard concertos, Alexandre Tharaud presents them on a Yamaha piano, with accompaniment from Les Violons du Roy, so the performances have a curious mix of modern and period sonorities that takes a little effort to appreciate. While it is true that Tharaud controls his playing by employing terraced dynamics, avoids using the pedals, and treats the piano as a light-textured instrument, reminiscent of a harpsichord or an early period fortepiano, there is still something disconcerting about its ...
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For his album of J.S. Bach's keyboard concertos, Alexandre Tharaud presents them on a Yamaha piano, with accompaniment from Les Violons du Roy, so the performances have a curious mix of modern and period sonorities that takes a little effort to appreciate. While it is true that Tharaud controls his playing by employing terraced dynamics, avoids using the pedals, and treats the piano as a light-textured instrument, reminiscent of a harpsichord or an early period fortepiano, there is still something disconcerting about its uniform, homogenous tone, especially when it is surrounded by strings playing with a passable Baroque sound. Even so, this halfway attempt to adapt to the proper period is preferable to some lush, overly Romanticized versions that go too far in the opposite direction, so Tharaud deserves credit for his restraint. Les Violons du Roy, directed by Bernard Labadie, plays with minimal vibrato and produces a burnished tone that has the distinctive sheen of historically informed...
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