2008-04-01 / Classic FM Magazine / Jessica Duchen

Bach Performance on the Piano
Angela Hewitt (piano)

No Bach lover will want to be without this fascinating double-DVD set from world-renowned Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt, who’s virtually inherited the mantle of ‘high priestess of Bach’ from the late Rosalyn Tureck. She delivers her very substantial lecture in a friendly manner yet provides a succession of deep, intricate insights into the astounding variety of musical issues involved in playing Bach on the modern piano. Best of all, though, is the recital comprising the Fourth Partita, Italian Concerto and the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, where Hewitt delivers her Bach with a compelling blend of virtuosity and respect. Sceptics who maintain that for Bach it has to be the harpsichord or bust may have to rethink.