French Suites-Js Bach Comments

\The mesmerizing movements of the Allemande, Courante, Sarabande,
Menuet I/II, Gigue- Perahia threw himself into everything with a ferocious concentration. The opening left-hand leap to the fugue's landing on a triumphant final cadence 40 minutes later felt like a single gesture, a life passing by during a fall and safe landing off a cliff. The epic Adagio was exceptional. Beethoven is in a black mood, Mozart taken for a ride, Bach marrying melancholy and joy in his French suites, for lovers dancing the tango of their broken lives, The twisted harmonies and endless melodic lines keep shifting, trying to go one way and then the next, never finding resolution or solace. For Perahia this was inescapable pain, but not to be dwelt upon. His ability to find the life in each note proved intensely moving.

Murray Perahia was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin.Perahia began studying the piano at age four with a teacher he says was 'very limiting' because she made him play a single piece until it was perfect.
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