Jayson Gillham - Romantic Bach: From Intimate to Epic (CD ALBUM)

Jayson Gillham - Romantic Bach: From Intimate to Epic (CD ALBUM)

Featuring 11 of Bach's compositions transcribed and arranged, from Rachmaninoff'sarrangement of the Violin Partita in E major into a pianistic showpiece, to Myra Hess's sublime 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring', Jayson Gillham's latest release is a love letter to Bach from a who's who of the great pianists and pianist-composers –Rachmaninoff, Percy Grainger, Hess, Busoni, Silotiand Petri.

"The thing about Bach," says Jayson, "is that it works so well on whatever instrument combination you put it on. It's something to do with the way Bach thinks, and the way he writes the music –the content is more important than the timbre of the instrument that it's played on. And so it's really effective on all instruments –particularly the piano."

Born 333 years ago in Germany, Bach remains arguably the most important musician in the Western musical tradition. Nowhere does his outsized brilliance shine through more brightly than in his keyboard works, and the influence that they have had on centuries of composers and musicians. This celebrated repertoire allows the full extent of Jayson's artistry to shine through, revealing the profound depth of his musicality, and a mind constantly interrogating his performance, his instrument, and the music.

Born and brought up in rural Queensland, Jayson Gillham travelled for hours to piano lessons in Brisbane, before shooting to fame in a number of prestigious international competitions. He is now recognisedas one of the finest pianists of his generation, performing across the globe with the world's most prestigious orchestras, venues and festivals.

ABC Classics signed Jayson for a three-album deal, and his debut record, an all-solo offering surveying music by Bach, Schubert and Chopin, reached No. 1 in the ARIA Charts on release. Soon afterwards the great pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, conducting the Sydney Symphony, chose to make his first-ever recording of a Beethoven concerto with Jayson Gillham at the keyboard. Jayson's Medtnerand Rachmaninoff album, recorded in 2017 with the Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northey, received unanimous praise and was Recording of the Month in Limelightmagazine.

Tracklistings:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Fugue in E major, BWV1.878 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, arr. Percy Grainger

Suite from Violin Partita in E major, BWV1006,transcr. Sergei Rachmaninoff

I. Prelude

II. Gavotte

III. Gigue

Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, BWVBWV904904

I. Fantasia

II. Fugue

Sheep May Safely Graze 7.from Cantata BWV208, arr. Egon Petri

Capriccio on the Departure of His Beloved Brother, BWV992

I. Arioso: Adagio

II. [Andante]

III. 10.Adagiosissimo

IV. [Andante con moto]

V. Aria del 12.Postiglione: Allegro poco

VI. 13.Fugaall'imitationedellaposta

Siciliano14.from Flute Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, BWV1031, arr. Wilhelm Kempff

Jesu, Joy of Man15.'s Desiring from Cantata BWV147,arr. Myra Hess

Nun 16.freuteuch, liebenChristen g'mein, BWV734a,arr. FerruccioBusoni

Chaconne 17.from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004, arr. FerruccioBusoni

Organ Prelude in E minor, BWV18.555, transcr. Alexander Siloti

PERCY GRAINGER 1882–1961

Blithe Bells: A free ramble on JS Bach19.'s 'Sheep May Safely Graze'