CD Reviews

Donaukurier | Jesko Schulze-Reimpell | 12 May 2006

A fresh view on Bach’s music

Since the legendary north American pianist Glenn Gould recorded Bach’s Goldberg variations back in the 50s, there seems to be a general consensus of how to interpret Bach on the piano. The requitements are deemed to be a clear rhythm, an absolutely transparent playing and an almost pointillistic staccato. Those who do not follow this convention are immediately seen as hopelessly old-fashioned, as musicians who view Bach from the standpoint of the romantics. Now, the 22-year old David Theodor Schmidt has taken on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and indeed seems to breach the rules of today’s zeitgeist. His French Suite No. 6 is played with long legato lines, with a strong feeling for the tonal possibilities of sound the modern concert grand offers but also with an astonishing technical and musical precision. This is not an old-fashioned, romanticising pianist, but a thoughtful connoisseur of the baroque master, who is looking for a fresh way to understand Bach.
The other works on the CD show, that the music of the romantic age is also familiar to him. In this recital which pursues a very interesting concept of programming, he performs beside Bach’s original compositions some too seldom Bach transcriptions and finally a romantic work which reflects the musical approach of the baroque master. So perhaps the equally virtuosic and thoughtful performance of César Franck’s “Prelude, Choral et Fugue” is a highlight of this distinguished CD Debut.

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