Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (2 SACD)

Following his recording of the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, released last year and praised by Gramophone as 'a pleasing benchmark for anyone seeking an interpretation that appreciates every detail of the music', harpsichordist Masato Suzuki now presents his interpretation of the second book of Bach's masterful cycle of preludes and fugues. No other work from the Baroque period is as appreciated, performed and studied as these collections, which pursue musical, theoretical and didactic goals. Like the first, the second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier contains a prelude and a fugue in each of the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale and covers all 24 major and minor keys. It was composed twenty years after the first book and is less frequently heard than its predecessor. Nonetheless, it contains pieces of great beauty covering a wide stylistic spectrum and demonstrates a mastery of counterpoint that never overshadows emotion, beauty and aesthetics. Masato Suzuki works as a conductor, harpsichordist, pianist and organist. He is chief conductor of the Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ), conductor and creative partner of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and music director of Ensemble Genesis.