LDV88-9

20 BACH | SONATAS & PARTITAS BWV 1001-1006 Some violin teachers deplore the fact that it’s increasingly difficult to present Bach in exams and competitions, as juries’ opinions differ so much on the ‘right’ interpretation . . . It’s true that there is a clash of worlds, which is tragic. The greatness of this music goes beyond these issues: there’s the letter, which is important, and the spirit, which is greater still. It’s amazing to see how incapable some of the champions of either a ‘historical’ or an ‘instrumental’ approach are of recognising what is successful in the other camp. I’m one of those people who can appreciate a version different from my own, if it’s done with a feel for the harmonic structure, a sense of tempo in keeping with the text, and an accomplished instrumental performance. I might even doubt my own approach, even when I hear a ‘Baroque’ reading that carries me along with it in a naturally musical gesture. The crossroads I stand at may be a vain utopia, but I am a man of vain utopias!