Pianist Alexandre Tharaud has put together a program of Bach's "Italian Concertos," (i.e., Bach's Italian Concerto) plus a few of his transcriptions for keyboard of violin and oboe concertos by Italian composers. It's the kind of inspired program that is finally, if slowly, making its way into the world of recorded classical music, and could compete with personalized play lists, if only the artists and producers would put together more than one hour of music. Here, Tharaud could have filled out the program with two more of ...
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Pianist Alexandre Tharaud has put together a program of Bach's "Italian Concertos," (i.e., Bach's Italian Concerto) plus a few of his transcriptions for keyboard of violin and oboe concertos by Italian composers. It's the kind of inspired program that is finally, if slowly, making its way into the world of recorded classical music, and could compete with personalized play lists, if only the artists and producers would put together more than one hour of music. Here, Tharaud could have filled out the program with two more of Bach's transcribed concertos or some of his Italianate movements from the keyboard suites. Tharaud performs what is here imaginatively, with much more color than pianists who prefer their Baroque works more straightforward. He uses everything -- variation in touch, dynamics, pedal, phrasing -- to distinguish the solo and tutti parts of the concertos. He gives the fast movements a Mediterranean sunny demeanor, exuberant, almost begging for attention; while the slow movements are...
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