Bach: Complete Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo

Featuring

Kyung Wha Chung
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Performer Biography

Kyung Wha Chung has been dedicated to her instrument for over 60 years and has pursued recording Bach's Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas for nearly as long.

Composition History

Bach's solo sonatas and partitas were composed around 1720, during his six-year period as music director to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen, a time when he was professionally and personally content.

Critical Reception

After their first publication in 1802, the Sonatas and Partitas were initially misunderstood by Romantic performers and composers, with some adding piano accompaniments or viewing them as mere pedagogical aids.

Performer Biography

Kyung Wha Chung, the violinist on this album, returned to recording after a 15-year hiatus due to an injury.

Notable Performances

The Sonatas and Partitas only entered the musical mainstream after Yehudi Menuhin recorded the first complete set between 1934 and 1936, over 200 years after their conception.

Compositional Technique

Bach's creative thinking in these works was influenced by his prowess as an organist and harpsichordist, leading to passages where the violin creates the impression of three- or four-part counterpoint.

Compositional Technique

Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin are unique due to their 'peerless quality' and 'visionary scope,' rather than just their idiomatic violin writing.