There are many questions surrounding Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Six Solos for violin’, or the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, as they are usually called today. When did he compose them, and why, and for whom? In what circumstances were they performed? And why would a master of polyphony choose to write for a melody instrument with limited scope for polyphony or chords? We can only guess at the answers – which makes the works all the more fascinating. The legendary violinist George Enescu famously described the set as ‘the Himalayas of violinists’, but for more than 200 years they were primarily regarded as pedagogical exercises rather than compositions worthy of the concert hall. Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann tried to popularize them by making versions with piano accompaniment, while Busoni did away with the violin altogether in his transcription of the famous Chaconne from Partita No. 2. But since Yehudi Menuhin made the first complete recording of the Sonatas and Partitas, between 1929 and 1936, they have become a staple during violin recitals, on album and in concert. Fascinating performers and audiences alike with their architectural perfection as well as their emotional range, these are works that lend themselves to very different interpretations, and on this recording it is the Bach of Finnish violinist Jaakko Kuusisto we hear. Himself a composer – as well as violinist and conductor – Kuusisto remembers beginning to study individual movements from the set at the age of ten. The music has been with him ever since, and to him ‘no other works for the violin provide a higher challenge or greater beauty’.

About Bach: Sonatas & Partitas :

If you are looking for an album to spruce your mood, play Bach: Sonatas & Partitas online on Joox now! Bach: Sonatas & Partitas by Jaakko Kuusisto was released on 1 Mar 2019. Featuring popular artists, the album is an amazing composition with a total of 31 songs.

More from Jaakko Kuusisto

Aho: Concerto for Soprano Saxophone & Chamber Orchestra and Quintet for Winds & Piano3 Nov 2017

Glow3 Jun 2016

Kuusisto: Orchestral Works1 Nov 2011

Jarnefelt: Symphonic Fantasy / Suite in E flat major / Serenade / Berceuse, "Lullaby"16 Nov 2010

Sibelius: Piano Quintet / Svartsjukans Natter / Andante - Allegro / O, Om Du Sett / Vivace1 Jan 2007

Rautavaara: Symphony No. 8, "The Journey" / Violin Concerto1 May 2004