This is the first published piano piece by Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825. Johann Sebastian Bach published the piece in 1726 with “enthusiasts” in mind, but actually it was written for professionals. Pianist Martin Helmchen gave his lively interpretation during a piano recital recorded live at the Verbier Festival on July 23rd, 2011.
(00:00) Coming on stage
(00:12) I. Praeludium
(02:10) II. Allemande
(05:32) III. Courante
(08:06) IV. Sarabande
(12:48) V. Menuets I & II
(15:39) VI. Gigue
Johann Sebastian Bach’s six partitas are not only famous but also challenging. They are Baroque suites with stylized dance movements such as Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, or Menuet. The works are regarded as highlights of Bach's secular repertoire. Bach first published the partitas in individual volumes, which were refined with a copper engraving technique between 1926 and 1931. The well-known First Partita, which Bach described as “these modest musical beginnings,” was “most humbly dedicated to the newborn Emanuel Ludwig,” the first son of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen.
In 1731, Johann Sebastian Bach then published his six partitas for cembalo solo BWV 825 - 830 under the title “Clavier Übung” (“Keyboard Exercise”), thereby reaching a larger segment of the public. He called the volume “Opus 1,” although Bach was already 46 years old and a distinguished keyboard virtuoso and composer. On the title page, Bach noted that he had written the pieces to “delight the spirits" of enthusiasts. But they were more than mere “exercises”. A well-known pianist in Leipzig, Luise Gottsched, wrote at the time: “Even after playing them ten times, I still feel as if I were just beginning.”
Pianist Martin Helmchen considers Johann Sebastian Bach as one of the greatest keyboard composers of all time, and Bach’s partitas are among his favorite pieces. Born in Berlin in 1982, Martin Helmchen is one of the most sought-after pianists in the world. He studied at the prestigious Hans Eisler Academy of Music. Among his mentors included Galina Ivanzova and Alfred Brendel. Critics have praised the originality and intensity of Helmchen's musical interpretations. In 2020, he received the prestigious Gramophone Music Award for his recording of the complete piano concertos of Ludwig van Beethoven. As a concert pianist, he has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, especially in Germany and the USA, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. Since 2010, Martin Helmchen has been Associate Professor of Chamber Music at Kronberg Academy, a conservatory for exceptionally talented musicians.
After the Partitas, Johann Sebastian Bach published three more volumes of “Keyboard Exercises” in the years that followed. The fourth part of these keyboard exercises was published in 1741 and went down in music history as the famous “Goldberg Variations”.
© Idéale Audience in coproduction with Museec - medici.tv
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