Search - J.S. Bach, Palumbo :: Partitas

It's OK, I guess, but . . .

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 12/12/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Massimo Palumbo, a pianist I'd never heard of, made this recording of Bach's Partitas 1, 2, & 6 (BWV 825, 826 & 830) in 1995 but this CD just came my way. I see that here at Amazon he has a number of CDs, but no others of Bach nor indeed of any solo baroque keyboard music. He has recorded a number of more recent Italians like Nino Rota, Ottorino Respighi and Giuseppe Martucci, none of them particularly noted for piano music. The playing here is technically assured. But when the playing isn't being faceless it is being wayward--not a good combination. Much of the playing is technically correct but soulless. At other times, especially with repeats, the pianist does things like octave displacements or bass doublings that are unnecessary, even a bit startling (although I must admit there are others, like Vladimir Feltsman, who do the same thing). Added to this is the brittle recorded sound provided by Nuova Era. My advice: Steer clear. For the Partitas played on the piano you could do much better with the recordings of Richard Goode, Angela Hewitt, new Polish whiz Piotr Anderszewski or, my favorites by András Schiff.Scott Morrison"