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Best Classical Recordings of 2008
February 11, 2009 - 15:48 — SteveHoltje

3. Murray Perahia
J.S. Bach: Partitas Nos. 2, 3, 4
(Sony)
Perahia has concentrated on Bach this decade, and now ranks among the very finest Bach
pianist ever, the equal of Glenn Gould, Sviatoslav Richter, and Angela Hewitt. In the Bach
works he has so far essayed, I enjoy his playing more than theirs, actually: Gould’s
eccentricity sometimes draws attention away from the composer; Richter’s Romantic
inclinations and abiding seriousness don’t ideally represent the music’s true style and wit;
Hewitt cannot quite match Perahia’s pearly tone and liquiscent phrasing (not that I can think of anyone else active
nowadays who can). Bach playing doesn’t get more elegant and refined. In the Partitas at hand, the gracefulness of
Perahia’s rhythms and ornaments fully conveys the vivacity of Bach’s dance movements at the same time that his
perfect proportions, fine shadings of tone colors, and keenly judged dynamics match Bach’s elevated composing in
lifting the music above its kinetic origins. It goes without saying that I look forward to Nos. 1, 5, and 6 coming our
way, and I fervently hope that his intermittent hand problems don’t prevent him from eventually tackling the Well-
Tempered Clavier, the French Suites, and The Art of Fugue.