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The Best of Play Bach
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Barnes and Noble
The Best of Play Bach
Current price: $13.99
Barnes and Noble
The Best of Play Bach
Current price: $13.99
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came up with his Play Bach
conceptions while still in the conservatory around 1950. He started recording them in 1959, and he's been at it ever since, adapting other
composers along the way, but always returning to
. It made sense then, and it makes sense now, for
's linear, continuo-driven,
style has always implied a swinging pulse; even some inspired, if strictly score-bound
recordings of
sound as if they are poised for takeoff. These recordings are not the originals, though; they are remakes made in France in the mid-'90s (from
and
) and compiled by
a decade later to coincide with
's 70th birthday year. No real surprises here; the repertory is mostly basic-repertoire
favorites, which
alternates straight
playing with straight-ahead, elegant, rhythm-shifting
elaborations for
piano trio. The main difference between the 1990s
and his best-sellers from decades before is his willingness to occasionally update his adaptations with newer rhythms that didn't exist then (check out the playfully funky
from the
). Nevertheless, listeners are so used to hearing
peddled in so many different idioms and wardrobes that it is impossible to hear anything radical in this concept anymore -- and certainly not since fellow pianist
's wacky, eclectic
raised the bar for outrageously entertaining
adaptations in 2000. Nothing much to report about the surround mix -- basically room ambience in the rear channels. But the piano has an appealingly robust, full-bodied
in SACD, more like that of a live instrument than on the original CDs, though the drums register more clearly on CD. This was released only as a hybrid SACD disc --
's first experiment with a single inventory title -- so don't go hunting for a stereo CD-only version; it doesn't exist. ~ Richard S. Ginell