Johann Sebastian Bach's first instrument was the violin, which he studied with his father, a violinist and violist, before moving on to the harpsichord and organ.
Performer Biography
Laurent Cabasso, the pianist on this album, studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and with renowned teachers like Nikita Magaloff and Maria Curcio-Diamand.
Composition History
Bach composed these seven toccatas for keyboard when he was a very young man, possibly barely older than twenty, though his exact age is unknown.
Composition History
Bach's encounter with master Buxtehude and the music of Northern German composers was decisive for his creative fervor and liberated his imagination and instrumental virtuosity.
Composer's Artistic Vision
For Bach, the toccata was not a fixed form but the freest of musical genres, allowing him to create his own structure without predetermined constraints.
Recording & Production
The recording features a Stephen Paulello 'Opus 102' piano, chosen for its exceptional sound length, clarity of registers due to parallel strings, and bright tone, which magnify polyphonic pieces.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach's toccatas reflect his quest for form, exploring styles from the capricious stylus phantasticus to more accomplished structures like the prelude and fugue or the three-movement concerto.
