Johann Sebastian Bach Rafal Blechacz

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971:
• 1 Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971: 1. (Allegro) 03:53
• 2 Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971: 2. Andante 04:56
• 3 Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971: 3. Presto 03:33
• Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825:
• 4 Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825: Prelude 01:48
• 5 Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825: Allemande 02:20
• 6 Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825: Courante 02:21
• 7 Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825: Sarabande 04:43
• 8 Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825: Menuet I & II 02:39
• 9 Partita No.1 In B Flat Major, BWV 825: Gigue 01:57
• 4 Duettos:
• 10 4 Duettos: 1. Duetto In E Minor, BWV 802 02:44
• 11 4 Duettos: 2. Duetto In F Major, BWV 803 02:42
• 12 4 Duettos: 3. Duetto In G Major, BWV 804 02:22
• 13 4 Duettos: 4. Duetto In A Minor, BWV 805 02:08
• Fantasia & Fugue In A Minor, BWV 944:
• 14 Fantasia & Fugue In A Minor, BWV 944: Fantasia 00:44
• 15 Fantasia & Fugue In A Minor, BWV 944: Fugue 04:26
• Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827:
• 16 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Fantasia 02:11
• 17 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Allemande 03:44
• 18 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Corrente 02:58
• 19 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Sarabande 03:23
• 20 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Burlesca 02:06
• 21 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Scherzo 01:11
• 22 Partita No.3 In A Minor, BWV 827: Gigue 03:01
• Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, Cantata BWV 147:
• 23 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, Cantata BWV 147: Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring (Arr. For Piano By Myra Hess) 04:03
• Total Runtime 01:05:53

Info for Johann Sebastian Bach

A new statement from Rafa Blechacz, one of the finest young pianists of his generation. Celebrated by his Chopin awarded recordings and cited by critics as one of those talents that only come along every few decades - has now turned to Bach

The now 31-year-old winner of the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition, has been immersed in Bach since his childhood and has cultivated a strikingly natural eloquence in his mature interpretations of the composer's keyboard works.

This is the perfect album to show his versatility and fine knowledge of the works of the composer.

Rafal's interpretation flows not least from his formative experience as an organist. Young Rafa cut his musical teeth on Bach s principal instrument, playing organ for several years before turning full time to piano. In addition to playing for services at the main church in his hometown of Nak o nad Noteci , he also gave occasional recitals there long after becoming a pianist. I was fascinated by the organ, and many of my earliest musical memories are of listening to the organ in church, he recalls.

This album includes some real hit pieces like the Italian Concerto, one of Blechacz s signature pieces (... his reading was, above all, a model of textural transparency Portland Press Herald ), and the Partita No. 1 (... it was immediately clear from the first sweet, liquid notes that Blechacz is a musician in service to the music, searching its depths, exploring its meaning and probing its possibilities Washington Post ) or Jesu Joy of Men s Desiring

After a sabbatical in 2016 to finish his PhD in Philosophy in Poland, his schedule in 2017 will bring him to the USA, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, France and more.

Rafal Blechacz, piano

Rafal Blechacz
was born in Nakło nad Notecią, Poland, on 30 June 1985. At the age of five he began to learn the piano at a local music centre and three years later enrolled at Bydgoszcz’s Artur Rubinstein Music School. Between 1996 and 1999 he won the top awards at a number of Polish national piano competitions. In 2005 he was awarded first prize at the 15th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, and three special prizes: the Polish Radio Award for “Best Performance of the Mazurkas”, the Polish Chopin Society Award for “Best Polonaise Performance”, and the Warsaw Philharmonic Award for “Best Concerto Performance”. Addition­ally, he won the prize founded by Krystian Zimerman for “Best Sonata Per­formance”. Rafal recorded his first CD for Deutsche Grammophon in 2007 and since then has continued to rise in popularity, dazzling live audiences throughout the world.

Booklet for Johann Sebastian Bach