Stravinsky / Bach (2005)

Here's a conundrum: Leonidas Kavakos and Peter Nagy have selected two works each by J.S. Bach and Igor Stravinsky, for what seems a didactic demonstration of both composers' affinity for an objective "musical science"; yet the violinist and pianist deliver these works with so much feeling that their results seem quite subjective, and thereby undermine the presentation. Granted, Bach's music is often extolled as the summit of craft and rationality, and Stravinsky's repudiation of emotional expression in music -- particularly ... Read More

Here's a conundrum: Leonidas Kavakos and Peter Nagy have selected two works each by J.S. Bach and Igor Stravinsky, for what seems a didactic demonstration of both composers' affinity for an objective "musical science"; yet the violinist and pianist deliver these works with so much feeling that their results seem quite subjective, and thereby undermine the presentation. Granted, Bach's music is often extolled as the summit of craft and rationality, and Stravinsky's repudiation of emotional expression in music -- particularly his own -- is famous. However, Bach's Partita No. 1 in B minor and the Sonata No. 1 in G minor need not be treated as dry treatises on compositional technique, regardless of their jewel-like perfection. Similarly, Stravinsky's Duo Concertant and the Suite Italienne need not be regarded as mechanical inventions, his pronouncements notwithstanding. So if Kavakos and Nagy render Bach's works with bravado and pathos, and Stravinsky's with tenderness, humor, and joy -- which in fact they... Read Less