Bach: Italian Concerto

Nikolayeva was especially loved for her Bach playing, amply represented by these discs. It is full of strength of every type, emotional, physical and intellectual. She is passionate but never sentimental; uncompromising in her clarity yet with a use of the pedal that is unconventional but not unconvincing; and technically there is no mistaking her power (even if sometimes her touch seems almost too strong). Sound quality varies but does not impair the sense that you are listening to a musician of considerable historic significance. Jessica Duchen

Our rating

5

Jessica Duchen

Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:39 pm

COMPOSERS: Bach
LABELS: Olympia
WORKS: Italian Concerto
PERFORMER: Tatiana Nikolayeva (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: OCD 627 AAD/DDD 1977/82

Nikolayeva was especially loved for her Bach playing, amply represented by these discs. It is full of strength of every type, emotional, physical and intellectual. She is passionate but never sentimental; uncompromising in her clarity yet with a use of the pedal that is unconventional but not unconvincing; and technically there is no mistaking her power (even if sometimes her touch seems almost too strong). Sound quality varies but does not impair the sense that you are listening to a musician of considerable historic significance. Jessica Duchen

Jessica Duchen

Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine

Jessica Duchen studied music at Cambridge University and was the classical music correspondent for The Independent from 2004 to 2016. She has also written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine and the JC, among others. Jessica Duchen has written librettos include numerous choral works and operas for the composer Roxanna Panufnik, including Silver Birch, commissioned by Garsington Opera and shortlisted for an International Opera Award in 2018. Two more works based on stories by Oscar Wilde were commissioned for Garsington’s Youth Company, The Happy Princess with composer Paul Fincham (2019) and The Selfish Giant with John Barber, which fell victim to lockdown, this has been postponed to 2021.
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