Description
The forth release by pianist Einav Yarden on Challenge Classics shines a spotlight on J S Bach' and his son.
"When I first discovered C.P.E Bach's keyboard music, I remember being completely amazed by its versatility and originality, by its inventiveness, spectrum of expression and its boldness. I was equally astounded by how much he preceded his time, that only one generation away from his father's High Baroque, and long before the Viennese Classical School fully flourished, he experimented so widely, pushed boundaries tirelessly, and in many ways laid the foundation for what was to become the Classical style. That he influenced Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven is clear and known, but one could also argue that he foreshadowed in certain ways the Romantic period.
With this album I wish to shed light on this brilliant composer's music, but wanted to do so while placing him next to the composer he most admired, but from whom he also needed to diverge and completely redefine himself - his father, Johann Sebastian Bach. The differences are extreme in every parameter, but some interesting parallels also emerge, as in the relationship to the written improvisation, the fantasia and the rondo.
The majority of the C.P.E. Bach pieces on this album were written in the later part of his career, but two of them were written in the 1740's, in other words while his father was still alive and writing. Each in its way, they offer a window into this interesting transition period in musical style and in C.P.E.'s composition. The works from his later period further unfold his endless originality and ceaseless urge to experiment. The incredible masterpieces of J.S. Bach are milestones of beauty and perfection - and when heard next to the son's pieces, they further highlight just how far, and in how many directions, the son went."
"…She's got a delightful quicksilver touch for Emanuel Bach and seems to understand how his music fits between the Baroque and Classical periods… There is Bach the Father as well – an English Suite – played with the kind of elemental joy as you'd expect from Glenn Gould… an excellent recording." - BBC Radio 3, Record Review
"What an enterprising programme from the Israeli pianist Einav Yarden...Yarden clearly has much to say in this repertoire and she's beautifully recorded too." - Gramophone (on Haydn, CC72742)
"Einav Yarden is a captivating pianist with a clear vision and a wonderful, convincing sound." - Piano News (on Schumann, CC72776)