Album

With an almost endless array of choices for recordings of Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin, listeners need to ask themselves some questions to help narrow the field. The first is whether a period-practice performance given on Baroque violin is preferred over a more modern interpretation performed on an instrument set up with modern strings and sound projection. If the former is what you seek, then you've come to the wrong album. If, however, a strong, meaty performance of these monumental compositions is appealing, read on. Ilya Kaler—the only violinist to date to have won gold medals in the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Paganini Competitions—offers listeners performances filled with energy and immense sound. His approach to Bach is by no means timid—much like Nathan Milstein—but is never too aggressive or harsh. His intonation, phrasing, and contrapuntal voicing are all spotless. The only potential downside to this recording comes from the recording venue itself. Performed in St. John Chrysostom Church in Newmarket, Canada, the overall sound quality of this set is perhaps what one would expect from a recording made in a church: reverberant. While a little reverb isn't necessarily a bad thing, in this case it actually gets in the way of clean articulation. So much so, in fact, that it seems Kaler must take some of his tempos slower than expected to accommodate the slow decay of the sound.

© Mike D. Brownell, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Sonata No.1 for Solo Violin in G-, BWV1001 Work Recorded 2006 17:16 Ilya Kaler Violin
1	1.Adagio	4:36			$0.99
2	2.Fugue: Allegro	5:25			$0.99
3	3.Siciliano	3:28			$0.99
4	4.Presto	3:47			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.1 for Solo Violin in B-, BWV1002 Work Recorded 2007 30:31 Ilya Kaler Violin
5	1.Allemande	5:07			$0.99
6	2.Allemande: Double	3:38			$0.99
7	3.Courante	3:51			$0.99
8	4.Couante: Double (Presto)	4:14			$0.99
9	5.Sarabande	3:45			$0.99
10	6.Sarabande: Double	2:39			$0.99
11	7.Tempo di bourrée	3:32			$0.99
12	8.Tempo di bourrée: Double	3:45			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Sonata No.2 for Solo Violin in A-, BWV1003 Work Recorded 2006 25:15 Ilya Kaler Violin
13	1.Grave	4:45			$0.99
14	2.Fuga	7:57			$1.49
15	3.Andante	6:32			$0.99
16	4.Allegro	6:01			$0.99
CD 2 of 2
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.2 for Solo Violin in D-, BWV1004 Work Recorded 2007 30:25 Ilya Kaler Violin
1	1.Allemande	5:05			$0.99
2	2.Courante	2:42			$0.99
3	3.Sarabande	4:24			$0.99
4	4.Gigue	4:25			$0.99
5	5.Chaconne	13:49			$2.49
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Sonata No.3 for Solo Violin in C, BWV1005 Work Recorded 2006 24:28 Ilya Kaler Violin
6	1.Adagio	4:56			$0.99
7	2.Fuga: Alla breve	10:32			$1.99
8	3.Largo	3:48			$0.99
9	4.Allegro assai	5:12			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.3 for Solo Violin in E, BWV1006 Work Recorded 2007 19:28 Ilya Kaler Violin
10	1.Prelude	3:52			$0.99
11	2.Loure	4:20			$0.99
12	3.Gavotte en rondeau	2:59			$0.99
13	4.Menuet 1 and 2	4:41			$0.99
14	5.Bourrée	1:25			$0.99
15	6.Gigue	2:11			$0.99