Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056
Concerto for harpsichord, oboe, strings & continuo No. 8 in D minor, BWV 1059 (incomplete)
Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053
In choral music and some instrumental releases, Masato Suzuki initially kept to the style of his famous conductor-keyboardist father, Masaaki Suzuki, but he has gradually begun to pursue a more independent course. Here he leads the Bach Collegium Japan from the keyboard in a group of Bach keyboard concertos. Suzuki père is not in sight, and it's clear that the son has been listening to new breezes from Italy. With a contemporary copy of a powerful harpsichord by Jan Couchet, a grandson of Ruckers, Suzuki delivers muscular ...
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In choral music and some instrumental releases, Masato Suzuki initially kept to the style of his famous conductor-keyboardist father, Masaaki Suzuki, but he has gradually begun to pursue a more independent course. Here he leads the Bach Collegium Japan from the keyboard in a group of Bach keyboard concertos. Suzuki père is not in sight, and it's clear that the son has been listening to new breezes from Italy. With a contemporary copy of a powerful harpsichord by Jan Couchet, a grandson of Ruckers, Suzuki delivers muscular readings that reflect the dramatic, operatic styles of contemporary Italian players. The outer movements are brilliant and quite satisfying to hear; the slow movements perhaps need a bit of the elder Suzuki's warmth but are fresh and original. Another interesting feature is the presence of the Bach Harpsichord Concerto No. 8 in D minor, BWV 1059, which exists only as an eight-measure fragment but has been reconstructed by Suzuki along the lines Bach used in creating the other...
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