Transformations

For her debut album with music by Johann Sebastian Bach's contemporary Gottlieb Muffat, Gramophone praised pianist and harpsichordist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya as an "ideal advocate for this music". Now, for her second solo recording for Linn, she turns to Johann Sebastian Bach, whom she presents in Transformations as the towering reinventor who repeatedly transformed existing material into impressive new creations. The recital contains Bach's brilliant arrangements of concertos by Vivaldi and Marcello, enhanced with a colorfulness and vitality that goes far beyond the originals. The other works on the programme are extraordinary arrangements of Bach's own music (Adagio in G major and Sonata in D minor), pieces originally written for a different instrument (Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat major) and a concerto without orchestra (the "Italian Concerto").