Thursday, May 1st
by musicclipoftheday
It never fails. Never. Listening to Bach, no matter what my mood, I feel lighter. And clearer. And more open.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor (2nd Movt.); Kristóf Baráti (1979-), live, Moscow, 2008
music clip of the day 
Richard, we heard Leon Fleisher play Bach’s “Sheep may safely graze” as an encore this year. Now a favorite: the melodic softness without the bombast that there is in “Goldberg variations.” In “Sheep” he starts with the chorus line and then introduces the melody, then brings back the chorus as a refrain in counterpoint to an ever-evolving melody . . . and that way back and forth. It’s just incredible. The musical architecture and counter point of Bach is shocking and entrancing.
You may know Leon Fleisher’s story which is quite intriguing. He began as a young award winning pianist and then developed a mysterious condition that left him no movement in his pinky finger on his right hand. So rather than abandon music and the piano he became a world renowned conductor (and I think composer). Now in his old age he has, just as mysteriously, regained a lot of movement in his finger and can now play piano with both hands again. We heard him in a concert with the KC Symphony where he played a concerto for left hand only. In a YouTube video of him playing “sheep” you can see the restricted movement of his pinky finger in his right hand.
Thanks for the comment, Scott.
One of many pleasures of doing this blog is that it provides an opportunity to resume musical conversations begun decades ago.