Bach & Rachmaninoff
Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816
- Allemande
- Courante
- Sarabande
- Gavotte
- Bourrée
- Loure
- Gigue
Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 2
- Allegro moderato
- Lento
- Allegro molto
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From the album's program notes:
Bach’s Fifth French Suite and Rachmaninoff’s First Sonata are paired side-by-side in sharp relief. One is a beacon of light and purity, the other a disturbing portrait of a troubled soul. One is a collection of cheerful dances, elegant vestiges of another world; the other is an epic, even overbearing three-act tragedy. One piece has been sent down from heaven; the other is an aural painting of hell.
Together they represent my personal journey as a pianist: I first learned one only months after beginning piano lessons as a youngster; the other I began years later as a doctoral student at Yale University. (Not that university was any sort of hell.)
Read Greg's extensive program notes on each piece by following the links below: