Vladimir Ashkenazy Releases His First Recording of Bach's 6 Partitas, Available 8/10

Vladimir Ashkenazy has been an exclusive recording artist with Decca since 1963, and in all his 200 albums as pianist or conductor he has never recorded Bach's monumental 6 Partitas (BWV 825-830). The "undisputed legend" (Time Out) brings a lifetime of musical discernment to these immense pieces, available from Decca on August 10, 2010.

Published under the general title of Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice), the 6 Partitas were immediately popular and quickly became core repertoire for all keyboard players. Each partita, or suite of dance movements, is unique in form and originality, and combines the engaging qualities of grace, playfulness and nobility.

These were the last set of suites for solo keyboard that Bach composed (though the first to be published) and are the most technically challenging. Brilliantly conceived with innumerable musical details to amuse and fascinate the most intellectual of listeners, these 6 partitas are also immensely charming and endlessly enjoyable to hear without focusing on the techniques being used by Bach.

Vladimir Ashkenazy brings a unique perspective to these works on this CD, his first recording of these particular pieces. Since winning second prize in the 1955 International Chopin Competition, Ashkenazy has spent the last 55 years impressing audiences from the piano and increasingly from the conductor's podium. This musical duality influences his work as a pianist and as a conductor by enriching each with a cross-pollination of perspective. This all-new recording, following the acclaimed 2006 release of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, is a summit meeting of masters finding both Bach and Ashkenazy at the heights of their individual powers.

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