Almost all of Bach’s keyboard concertos on one
CD? Yes, Riccardo Chailly and Ramin Bahrami have proved this
to be possible, and with reason: “Bach’s keyboard
concertos have to be seen as a whole, not just as the dialogue
between piano and orchestra… each acts as a source for
the other, working together to create the perfect polyphony.”
Other points are made, but the essence of the message is that
Bach is a composer for today, and that if these two musicians
had not been able to make this recording they would have withered
as grapes on a November vine. Well, perhaps not quite, but this
has been a fairly long term project, and quotes from both of
these main players show how much bringing Bach to life meant
to them.
Ramin Bahrami is an Iranian musician, which needn’t have
any bearing on our perception of his playing, were it not that
he allows to hear “traces of an Iranian song I knew as
a child” in the finale the fifth concerto BWV 1056.
Rather than pushing aside any relationships between East and
West, he and Chailly clearly relish any extra spice this refreshing
new view can be brought into Bach’s music, and the sheer
life and ‘zip’ in all of these concertos is a joy
to behold.
Fitting five concerti on one disc doesn’t result in any
indecent haste however. Timings are a tad shorter than many
modern performances, but not by an overly dramatic amount. Listeners
may prefer to linger perhaps a little longer over movements
such as the gorgeous Adagio of BWV 1052, but the
version here speaks clearly and without affectation, guiding
us through Bach’s beautiful harmonic and formal structures
with a gentle hand - one which is keen for us to experience
the total movement, as well as casting glances at all of those
significant moments. These are more ‘vocal’ readings
than interpretations which explore the resonance of the instrument
as part of the overall impression. Indeed, Bahrami uses virtually
no sustaining pedal in his playing for these pieces. You can
imagine such a movement being a highlight from one of Bach’s
cantatas or Passions, and the same goes for the Siciliano
of BWV 1053 and indeed all of the slow movements. This
in turn gives is new insights into what the music can express.
BWV 1054 in this context is seen as “the very heart
of the whole series”, and there are some stunning touches
which make the first movement different enough to make even
the most jaded reviewer put down their coffee and gaze blankly
into the middle distance. The movement has a dynamic variety
which creates a variegated path though Bach’s verdant
creation, and the world stops turning momentarily for those
transitional moments such as at 2:04. The beauty of the Adagio
e piano sempre movement is a given, but the musicians make
the music ripple like gently moving water, rather than creating
the familiar, more sombre atmosphere. If the section from 2:12
onwards doesn’t make you shed at least a small internal
tear, then I fear there is more rehab work to be done. The music
here is so simple, and further reduced almost to nothing
by the players, we seem to be made aware of the silence which
surrounds our planet, let alone that which engulfs our very
mortality. This indeed is what Bach is all about, and I bow
deeply in gratitude to all of those involved in this recording.
Ramin Bahrami’s playing is sheer pleasure from start to
finish. Effortless technique throws off little ornamental turns,
passing notes and runs, and his legato lyricism is something
to which many a pianist can merely aspire. He will occasionally
‘ping’ notes a little over the expected dynamic
or add an octave to make a point - something which I feel is
an aspect of his orchestration of the solo part. Sometimes it
might be a fanfare of brass from the treble, or the thwack of
a drum or some extra organ notes in the bass. These elements
keep us awake but are used sparingly and never unmusically.
Riccardo Chailly’s Gewandhausorchester has already proved
itself in Bach through a superb series of recordings for Decca,
and they have a shine and bounce which is glorious throughout.
The balance between soloist and orchestra seems perfect to me.
Choice in this repertoire on piano is fairly hot, though not
boiling over. There are a number of very high quality complete
recordings which compete with Bahrami/Chailly, though these
generally include a wider variety of extras including the BWV
1057 concerto and on more than one CD so we’re not
really on the same playing field, but I’ll just mention
a couple of alternatives in terms of absolute quality. Angela
Hewitt on the Hyperion label for example now has all her concerto
recordings in a very desirable box set which includes the A
minor Triple Concerto and the 5th Brandenburg
Concerto (see reviews of the separate discs here
and here).
Her performances with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber
Orchestra are gorgeous, seeking extra poetry in the music in
very rewarding ways, and with a balance which allows the piano
to mix sweetly with the strings. Hewitt’s tempi are more
measured than Bahrami, and there is more subtlety of colour
in the piano playing if less excitement around the faster movements.
Murray Perahia also makes a strong case on the Sony Classics
label, though is also to be found on three discs with similar
extras to Hewitt, as well as a nice Italian Concerto BWV
971. He and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields are very
fine indeed, though the antique plucking of a continuo lute
here and there is more of a confusion than a benefit when sat
next to a modern grand piano, especially with one recorded with
as much richness and authority as in this case. I’ve reviewed
Andras Schiff here,
but find his Decca package to be too much of mixed bag to recommend,
especially over the versions above.
Without taking anything away from other musician’s achievements,
this recording from Ramin Bahrami and Riccardo Chailly is in
my opinion now the one to have - if you only seek five
keyboard concerti and can live without the entire set that is.
Even if you already have these pieces in different versions,
and even if you have yet to be converted to piano over harpsichord
I would urge you to try this one. These performances are both
life-enhancing fun, and breathtakingly and movingly beautiful.
I have removed all others from my wish lists, and added this
one to my very thinly populated disc of the year desert-island
for 2011.
Dominy Clements
Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester on Decca:
Brandenburg Concertos review
St Matthew Passion review
Christmas Oratorio review
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue etc. review
Ramin Bahrami (piano) 
