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Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin have inspired divergent interpretations -- perhaps more divergent even than any other Bach works. Some players treat them as mystical, hermetic texts and strive for a kind of severe beauty. For violinists of the Romantic school, by contrast, they were often supremely passionate works, with a full catalog of expressive devices married to the most technically challenging materials. For Baroque violinist John Holloway, they are something else again: "a compendium of Baroque violin technique [that] is both a challenge and an opportunity." Holloway's agile readings fall into a group that treats Bach's works as the apex of a series of technical studies that dated well back into the seventeenth century, rather than as strange and isolated works. He makes a strong case for the appropriateness of the Baroque violin in these pieces -- it seems throughout that the music, while certainly difficult, doesn't make him sweat. Passagework runs off the strings in flowing streams. The tough second-movement fugue in the Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005, sounds brisk and clean in its double and triple stops, not -- as they can in lesser hands on a modern violin -- like someone trying to start a lawn mower. And after hearing Holloway you'll never listen to the massive Chaconne that closes the Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004, in quite the same way again. The sheer difficulty of this movement seems to cause players, especially those who normally traffic in the Romantic classics on a modern violin, to imbue the central shift to D major with a kind of cathartic triumph. Holloway is considerably more restrained, and the music he makes here doesn't seem quite so extreme; the work as he plays it seems more of a piece with the rest of Bach's output, and that's probably a good thing. ECM recorded the work at the Propstei St. Gerold, an Austrian monastery with live, brilliant sound that's lovely for choral music but a bit lofty and lonesome for violin music intended for the well-upholstered chambers of a noble family. Holloway's calm application of superior skills to this music, however, comes to seem entirely appropriate as you immerse yourself in his performance.
© TiVo
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Sonata for Violin Solo No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001 (Various Composers)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Partita for Violin Solo No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002 (Various Composers)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003 (Various Composers)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
DISC 2
Partita for Violin Solo No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 (Various Composers)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005 (Various Composers)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Partita for Violin Solo No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006 (Various Composers)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Stephan Schellmann, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer - John Holloway, Baroque Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH, under exclusive license to Universal Music Classics & Jazz - a division of Universal Music GmbH
Album review
Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin have inspired divergent interpretations -- perhaps more divergent even than any other Bach works. Some players treat them as mystical, hermetic texts and strive for a kind of severe beauty. For violinists of the Romantic school, by contrast, they were often supremely passionate works, with a full catalog of expressive devices married to the most technically challenging materials. For Baroque violinist John Holloway, they are something else again: "a compendium of Baroque violin technique [that] is both a challenge and an opportunity." Holloway's agile readings fall into a group that treats Bach's works as the apex of a series of technical studies that dated well back into the seventeenth century, rather than as strange and isolated works. He makes a strong case for the appropriateness of the Baroque violin in these pieces -- it seems throughout that the music, while certainly difficult, doesn't make him sweat. Passagework runs off the strings in flowing streams. The tough second-movement fugue in the Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005, sounds brisk and clean in its double and triple stops, not -- as they can in lesser hands on a modern violin -- like someone trying to start a lawn mower. And after hearing Holloway you'll never listen to the massive Chaconne that closes the Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004, in quite the same way again. The sheer difficulty of this movement seems to cause players, especially those who normally traffic in the Romantic classics on a modern violin, to imbue the central shift to D major with a kind of cathartic triumph. Holloway is considerably more restrained, and the music he makes here doesn't seem quite so extreme; the work as he plays it seems more of a piece with the rest of Bach's output, and that's probably a good thing. ECM recorded the work at the Propstei St. Gerold, an Austrian monastery with live, brilliant sound that's lovely for choral music but a bit lofty and lonesome for violin music intended for the well-upholstered chambers of a noble family. Holloway's calm application of superior skills to this music, however, comes to seem entirely appropriate as you immerse yourself in his performance.
© TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 32 track(s)
- Total length: 02:11:52
- Main artists: John Holloway
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
- Label: ECM New Series
- Genre: Classical
© 2006 ECM Records GmbH ℗ 2006 ECM Records GmbH
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