CD Reviews

Le Devoir (Quebec) | Christophe Huss | 14.12.2007

Classical – Schmidt

«Bach Reflections». Partita No. 6 E Minor; Prelude and Fugue XXII B flat Minor from "The Well-Tempered Clavier Part II". (+ works by Liszt and Shostakovich). David Theodor Schmidt (piano). Profil PH 07071 (Naxos).
With performers like Andrea Bechetti, Martin Stadtfeld and now David Theodor Schmidt, Bach has been blessed with young interpreters who are worthy of the greatest. I had never heard of David Theodor Schmidt before I listened to this CD almost by coincidence. First impression (Toccata and Allemande of the Partita No. 6): “This is very good.” Second impression (Courante and Sarabande of the same work): “But that is exceptional!” I am very eager to see how the career of this 25-year old German pianist will develop and I hope for his sake that he will receive the support his talent deserves. The CD impresses both with the precision of its programme and its rigorous execution. It is designed around Bach and his influence on Liszt (Variations on “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen”) and on Shostakovich (Prelude & Fugue in D Minor). Schmidt develops his interpretation with striking honesty through the touch and the structuring of the dynamics. In his playing, nothing is meant to be spectacular, but everything is; that’s how deeply this young man gets to the bottom of things.

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