When was the last time I listened to Bach's keyboard concertos performed on a modern grand? To be honest, I can’t remember, as most orchestral Bach I hear these days are on period instruments. Which was why I was slightly apprehensive about this concert by Sir András Schiff and Cappella Andrea Barca (a group he formed with friends a quarter of a century ago), one of the programmes they are presenting during their current (and farewell) Asian tour. Any qualms were dispelled within the first few seconds. Schiff and his trusted musicians transcended such distinctions and got to the heart of Bach’s music.
Often with harpsichord performances of these concertos, the balance between soloist and ensemble is problematic, but there were no such worries here. The Bösendorfer was placed in the centre (rather than in front) of the ensemble. It was a fairly large formation – 9-8-5-4-2 (violins and basses placed antiphonally – which filled the resonant 2000-seater vineyard-style Muza Kawasaki Concert Hall easily. But despite the size, their playing was like enlarged chamber music. There was no hierarchy – everyone breathed together, trusted each other and made music symbiotically. Essentially the players are all chamber musicians, and several are also experts in historically informed performance, including Leader Erich Höbarth, so stylistically they combined the best of modern and period playing.
Schiff played all six concertos (BWV1052-56 and 1058) from memory, which for someone who begins every morning with a dose of Bach is probably nothing special, but remarkable all the same. All the virtues of his Bach playing was evident here: clarity of touch and warmth of tone, meticulous but natural phrasing and articulation, classical poise, and sense of direction. In other words, every note was where it should be, with hardly any pedalling. In these works, which are more in the concerto grosso style than the subsequent piano concertos, the keyboard is often part of the orchestral fabric, and Schiff seemed just as content playing continuo as solos. The cellos, who often would share the bass line with the left hand part, seemed like the extension of Schiff’s left hand.
Four concertos were performed in the first half. The D major concerto (transcription of the E major Violin Concerto) was sunny and joyful, the F minor concerto had gravitas, the G minor and the E major concertos featured lively dialogues between soloist and ensemble. Interestingly, Schiff provided harmonic links between the concertos in the form of a chorale-like passage leading us into the next key – a harmony lesson. The A major and the majestic D minor concertos followed in the second half. Basically, every movement was a gem, but in particular, there were moments of breathtaking beauty and elegance in the slow movements including the Largo of the F minor concerto, a cantabile melody unfolding over gentle pizzicato strings, and the Siciliano in the E major concerto featuring some juicy, almost jazzy, chromaticism. The concluding D minor concerto, possibly originally an organ concerto, was the most virtuosic and majestic.
And as if Schiff hadn’t played enough (he doesn’t do things by halves!), he offered the first movement of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto as an encore, with Höbarth and flute colleague Wally Hase as fellow soloists. With reduced strings forces, this too was an intimate and convivial performance, including the expertly played keyboard cadenza. And for the fervent Japanese fans, he gave one final encore – his signature piece – the Aria from the Goldberg Variations.
