Zhu Xiao-Mei - J.S. Bach: Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772-801 '2015

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 1, C Major, BWV 772
02. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 2, C Minor, BWV 773
03. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 3, D Major, BWV 774
04. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 4, D Minor, BWV 775
05. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 5, E-Flat Major, BWV 776
06. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 6, E Major, BWV 777
07. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 7, E Minor, BWV 778
08. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 8, F Major, BWV 779
09. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 9, F Minor, BWV 780
10. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 10, G Major, BWV 781
11. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 11, G Minor, BWV 782
12. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 12, A Major, BWV 783
13. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 13, A Minor, BWV 784
14. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 14, B-Flat Major, BWV 785
15. Inventions and Sinfonias Inventio 15, B Minor, BWV 786
16. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 1, C Major, BWV 787
17. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 2, C Minor, BWV 788
18. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 3, D Major, BWV 789
19. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 4, D Minor, BWV 790
20. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 5, E-Flat Major, BWV 791
21. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 6, E Major, BWV 792
22. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 7, E Minor, BWV 793
23. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 8, F Major, BWV 794
24. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 9, F Minor, BWV 795
25. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 10, G Major, BWV 796
26. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 11, G Minor, BWV 797
27. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 12, A Major, BWV 798
28. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 13, A Minor, BWV 799
29. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 14, B-Flat Major, BWV 800
30. Inventions and Sinfonias Sinfonia 15, B Minor, BWV 801



“When Bach composed them, in his last years in Köthen, those pivotal
years that were to lead him to Leipzig, he already had an incredible number of
masterpieces behind him. He took the trouble to make a beautiful fair copy of
this work. It’s a product of his maturity. But since these pieces serve
as a basic tool for learning the piano, they’re inevitably overshadowed
by the larger cycles, like The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Goldberg Variations,
The Art of Fugue and so on. But that’s a mistake, because there’s
an extraordinary density of music in the Inventions and Sinfonias.” Zhu
Xiao-Mei

“Johann Sebastian Bach’s Inventions and Sinfonias become real
musical pearls in Zhu Xiao Meis incomparably refined playing, peppered by a
totally respectful imagination and creativity. Enchanting!” (Pizzicato)

“Zhu Xiao-Mei turns her attention to these smaller-scale pieces, finding
the drama in each miniature and rendering the set with myriad nuances.”
(Arts Beat, The New York Times)

„The Inventions and Sinfonias of Johann Sebastian Bach are essential
training pieces for young pianists, so they are quite well-known, though
somewhat less venerated than the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Goldberg Variations,
and the Art of the Fugue, which are regarded as much more challenging and lofty.
Yet Zhu Xiao-Meis recording on Accentus Music demonstrates that these are not
mere exercises or easy pieces for beginners, but artistically challenging works
in their own right, in which every choice is evident in the exposed two-part and
three-part counterpoint. This album was recorded in the Mendelssohn Room at the
Gewandhaus in Leipzig, which has lively acoustics that complement Zhus playing
without drowning her sound or taking the edge off her crisp articulation.
Listeners who prefer to hear these pieces played on harpsichord may not care for
any performances on piano, but Zhu is so meticulous and precise in her
execution, even a Bach purist can appreciate her skills and ability to make
these pieces intellectually and emotionally satisfying.“ (Blair Sanderson,
AMG)

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