Here's a conundrum:
Leonidas Kavakos and
Peter Nagy have selected two works each by
J.S. Bach and
Igor Stravinsky, for what seems a didactic demonstration of both composers' affinity for an objective "musical science"; yet the violinist and pianist deliver these works with so much feeling that their results seem quite subjective, and thereby undermine the presentation. Granted,
Bach's music is often extolled as the summit of craft and rationality, and
Stravinsky's repudiation of emotional expression in music -- particularly his own -- is famous. However,
Bach's Partita No. 1 in B minor and the Sonata No. 1 in G minor need not be treated as dry treatises on compositional technique, regardless of their jewel-like perfection. Similarly,
Stravinsky's Duo Concertant and the Suite Italienne need not be regarded as mechanical inventions, his pronouncements notwithstanding. So if
Kavakos and
Nagy render
Bach's works with bravado and pathos, and
Stravinsky's with tenderness, humor, and joy -- which in fact they do -- then listeners are none the poorer for it. Thankfully, the original point of pairing these composers is weakened, and the players' sensitivity and eloquence prove that expression is inescapable and absolutely essential to musical art. ECM's sound quality is fine, though a little distant in the highly resonant space.