Hélène Grimaud's first Bach-themed recording is adroitly balanced between solo and accompanied works of J.S. Bach and arrangements by Liszt,
Rachmaninov, and Busoni, though the program is perhaps too heavily weighted with minor-key selections.
Grimaud's tone is a many-splendored thing: smooth and strong in the concerto's Adagio, yet lean and athletic in the fugues; richly glittering in the Liszt arrangement, but lightly shimmering in the
Rachmaninov arrangement. Most importantly,
Grimaud's playing is staggeringly virtuosic. She tears through the concerto's demonic outer Allegros, soars through
Rachmaninov's luminous Prelude, and devours Busoni's tremendously challenging Chaconne without missing a note. However, seductive as
Grimaud's combination of tone, technique, and temperament may be, the interpretations recorded here sometimes lack depth. In her quest to achieve impressive speed in Liszt's Prelude and Fugue, she neglects the beauty of its melodies and harmonies. Similarly, the grand sonic surface of her Busoni Chaconne at times obscures the work’s deeper qualities rather than amplifying them. Lastly,
Grimaud's take on the Preludes and Fugues from the WTC sound more like exercises for the body than statements from the heart. Though she is ably accompanied by Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and sensitively recorded by Deutsche Grammophon,
Grimaud fails to deliver the full measure of what Bach has to offer.