The 21st century got you down? Is the fast paced, impersonal, technology driven society enough to give you a longterm headache and fuel your desire for an alcoholic relaxant? Well, I have a better idea. Relax for a about a hour with Bronislaw Gimpel playing Bach at his best (by himself!) and you'll have an antidote for the weary, crazy days we are living in at this very moment!
Bronislaw Gimpel needs no introduction from me. A career that spanned well over half a century, he was justly praised as a soloist, orchestral concertmaster, chamber music partner, teacher, theorist and conductor. For more information about him and, and his talented family, I will direct readers to the excellent Gimpel Family Archive .
There is a style of playing in these two sonatas for unaccompanied violin (Nos. 2 & 3) which partners technique, musicality, wisdom, and intellect all into one neat package. Many violinists have recorded these pieces but I think, few have been as persuasive as Gimpel. (For the record, warts and all, I love best Enescu's set of the complete sonatas and partitas, his swansong to his extraordinary instrumental and interpretative prowess.) When Gimpel set these sonatas to record, he was in his mid 40's and had been concertizing for well over 40 years. He also had witnessed destruction on an unimaginable scale and therefore set out, like others, to preserve something of the old world amid the chaos and changes of a brave new world. Hence, this style of playing which is intimate, approachable yet dazzling, and so infused with the spirit of being "human." And like Schnabel, Gimpel practices the concept that the music is not necessarily captured solely in the notes but it also resides in the silence between the notes.
Gimpel recorded the entire set of sonatas and partitas. I have only located this Dover mono reissue. If I do come across the remaining items, I will, of course, post them. They deserve it. This playing speaks of genuine human goodness and I need as much of that as I can get.
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