Thomas Zehetmair, Bach, Chaconne from Partita No. 2 Part I

[padrobertson]

@EdoFrenkel is right; Zehetmair is informed by the history of the Chaconne/Ciaconna before Bach. It was originally a Spanish & Italian dance brought over from "the New World" in a fast 3-time with an accented 2nd beat & specific bass ostinato - cf. the Ciacconas of Kapsberger, Falconiero, Cazzati, & Rossi. Bach was conscious of this tradition (calling the work Ciaccona, not Chaconne), but chose to change the traditional bass motif and broaden the tempo, as many of his German contemporaries had.

[monelleny]

This will surely appeal to some. It is not without beauty or feeling. But it is so eccentric that I don't understand it at all.

[EdoFrenkel]

@monelleny It's actually quite in line with what a person who is trained in period performance would do - whom I would suspect Zehetmair aligns himself with. It is undoubtedly shockingly different from say Pearlman, Milstein, Heifitz, etc, but the playing has a visceral quality to it that seems to be lacking in many other recordings of this piece.

[monelleny]

@EdoFrenkel

My biggest regret in life is that David Oistrakh never recorded this partita. My favorite recordings are by Grumiaux (without the reverb, thank you) and Suk. I do prefer a more solid, stable interpretation. This one makes me very nervous. However, you seem to know much more about all this than I do. I appreciate you sharing your opinion!

[Virtok]

It's not even in tune! Totally disgusting this recording.

[Virtok]

The funniest Ciaconne ever. 10 points for this clown

[TheViolin86]

he play very good but i dont like very much the "fraseggio"

[melmothtube]

Nice. One of the very few that play chords starting bar 9 from the bass, consequently sounding like chords, letting the mind to fill the small gaps to follow the tenor voice, as it would sound on a harpsichord. Great arpeggiations and general bowing, too. I feel good Baroque flavour here.

[marina7905]

@melmothtube слабо

[themusicdr]

listened to this last night as well but just cant get to grips w it

the despcription by sonnabend is v apt "ambivalent"

[TempoFurioso]

it sounds very staccato 

[Susagui]

mmm too much capricious for my taste... I would prefer something a little bit rational, like Bach s music itself.

But no doubts Zehetmair is an extraordinary violinist. Maybe his sin is to put himself in the close up instead of the composer: musical narcissism

[StreetPerforming]

Gidon Kremer and Thomas Zehetmair . . . these two are my most favourite players!

Then there comes Leonidas Kavakos (I heard him life twice!!!)

Uto Ughi , Vengerov , Perlman , Heifez . . .

[Barbapippo]

I don't know if such performance is filologically accurate or not, but it sounds convincing

[dereczynski]

Quite impressive lack of musical logic .

Nicely played it totally misses what is unique about this movement as compared to the other movements in this partita . This movement provides a sense

of architecture , a certain regularity being an essential part of the organic growth. here one gets a collection of disjointed gestures

each one captivating but as a whole never really adding up to anything.This inability for long range thinking might be the reason why mr Z is an abysmal conductor

[akaye10]

Very interesting, I like some things and don't like some other things. I like the general shape of the phrases but he may be a little too liberal with the tempo and a little heavy handed with the pedal tones.

[akaye10]

On the other hand the approach to the arpeggiated section starting around 4:00 is very cool

[sormu16]

Refreshingly light. Nobody died here, it's more like the green fields on a warm summer day.

[cromulentinnoc3nce]

I prefer a more contemporary interpretation, but for baroque, I recommend Mullova.

[dxxn]

i like this but don't love it. one thing i dislike about period interpretations by modern violinists is the tendency to cut notes short. i think the longer stroke by the tourte bow allows for more plangent tonalities in baroque music and adds great overtones that are lost when the bow strokes are reduced to martele and fouette strokes. i wish the modern players would take that into account.

[fiddlepimp]

I studied baroque violin in conservatory, and have a great love of the period performance tradition. What period performance has showed us is that there are MANY ways to play, and has opened doors, not shut them. Among musicians, Zehetmair is like a saint. A fiddler's fiddler. His musicianship is unparalleled - among period performers or 'mainstream' violinists alike.

[tuxedomoon]

This is good but i think he mixes too much romantism and baroque perfomance ,i think also that vibrato was not used too much in german school.

[mexindian1]

Brilliant interpretation - this man is no trained monkey - he is a genius. Bravo!!!

[Zhou9]

All of you are looking for an ideal Bach sound. Really what you're looking for is for this guy to conform to basically all the other interpretations.

[happpiday]

wow...i love Zehetmair's bach, regardless of what they say...yay!

[Glinthos]

A wondeful interpretation.

[JaredIsrael]

I was attempting to post this as a response to a comment by Zoloff1, which is 5 down here. Also, my last sentence should read "Which is the way Zehetmair is playing it..." not "Why is the way Zehetmair is playing it..." Other than that, no mistakes :-)

[xmrbigglesworthx]

what i like about this is that he doesnt play it like anyone else. when most people (and i mean most people) play this you can expect exactly when they will take time, exactly what style they will play it in, etc. I'm not saying this is my favorite interpretation (far from it really), but I have to say it really held my interest. Props to Thomas for being original..

[sir1920]

What the hell is this? This is utter garbage. This guy needs to go back and re-read the score and re-discover the essence of Bach.

[jdzzdj]

Sorry i just forgot that you guys (Zoloft1 and theman21) meet Bach in person...i have no more words against that...

[Zoloft1]

agree with theman....

This song was written after the death of his first wife, and it doesn't make sense why he would want someone to rush the piece. If anything it should be slow and almost giving a feel of promise.

[tysond7]

If he is rushing the Chaconne, please tell me at what speed a Chaconne should be played? At what speed did you take it? What part did it feel like he was rushing? Did he loose control? Did it feel like rushing compared to all those other recordings you had in mind?

It is poor musicianship to be so close-minded.

Zehetmair successfully shows grief, despair and struggle while showing grace, light and hope. He has beautiful opening chords. Great unique interpretation.

[JaredIsrael]

I don't understand your point. Why, written after the death of his wife, should "it should be slow and almost giving a feel of promise"? Why not tortured and very angry? Why is the way Zehetmair is playing it...

[tysond7]

By the way, this piece was written before the death of his first wife. During 1720 Bach was already making copies of his works for unaccompanied violin, meaning that they had already been completed. Maria Barbara's funeral was not held until July 7th, 1720...

[theman21]

complete crap you guys, Bach never meant it to be played this way, yes he has excellent technique but his rythm is crappy. I know he meant it that way but that is not what the peice was designed for. Bach is supposed to be lamenting in peace to God, not angry at God. It is a period of doubt for him and he was not angry. This guy is just sawing the piece to pieces...

[zarkingtaters]

Well this is just extraordinary. Excellent technique and at the same time talent and imagination to boot; this performance was carried out with guts and also with taste, two things which seem to not go together but Zehetmair does here nearly perfectly.

[jdzzdj]

Zehetmair is not my favorite violinist, but he do an excellent job in here...and dare to recommend Patrick Bismuth's (on baroque violin) version of this work, i found it as the most convincing ever

[jdzzdj]

Gee!! its so easy to say that this is poor and unlistenable and that he hacked through the entire thing. Its a pity to see that late 19th century and 20th as well romantic mentality still running in so many people's way of think...nobody thinks in the conduction of voices, or the imagination to re-invent every single variation, nobody thinks at least in how people could think at the moment that the piece was written.

[mandrileante]

poor

[kikkom4n]

This sounds like ass.

[aimson]

He hacked through the entire thing... I'm sorry but this is unlistenable for me. Thanks for letting me hear it anyways.

[katalukon]

He is the best! Do you have the rest of the partita as played by him?

[violinelove]

schade.. nur sound.. aber sehr schön