Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 4 in A major, BWV 1055
Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056
Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058
David Fray's disc of J.S. Bach's keyboard concertos, performed with the German Chamber Philharmonic, Bremen, will not attract Baroque purists, but will appeal to a more impartial audience that can accept the ideas and performances of a pianist compared most often to Glenn Gould. Fray has a reputation for playful antics, including conducting himself, hunching over the keys, and humming to himself, and that's part of his quirky attraction, along with his model good looks. But the music is more important than his behavior or ...
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David Fray's disc of J.S. Bach's keyboard concertos, performed with the German Chamber Philharmonic, Bremen, will not attract Baroque purists, but will appeal to a more impartial audience that can accept the ideas and performances of a pianist compared most often to Glenn Gould. Fray has a reputation for playful antics, including conducting himself, hunching over the keys, and humming to himself, and that's part of his quirky attraction, along with his model good looks. But the music is more important than his behavior or appearance, and his playing seems rather less appropriate to Bach and somewhat more like a Classical-era interpretation of Bach, similar to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's reworkings of Baroque ideas. This stylistic ambiguity, heightened by the use of a modern piano and modern orchestral instruments, makes the listener hesitate, perhaps in confusion about how to take Fray's intentions, for he offers neither historically informed performances in authentic Baroque style -- a harpsichord would...
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