Simone Dinnerstein - Bach: Inventions & Sinfonias, BWV 772-801 (2015) [Official Digital Download]

On her new album, Bach Inventions & Sinfonias, renowned pianist Simone Dinnerstein reconnects with the foundation of her musical career and what she's best known for a solo album of J.S. Bach's keyboard works. The recording was made at the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York by Grammy-winning producer Adam Abeshouse. The Inventions and Sinfonias, commonly known as the 3-part inventions, were originally written in 1723 as a musical guide for keyboard players and remain a core part of the piano repertoire for students, amateurs, and professional musicians alike. Bach Inventions & Sinfonias features beautiful, well-known music by one of the most popular composers of all time, performed by the premiere Bach pianist of our time.

Bach’s Inventions and Sinfonias (commonly known as the 3-part Inventions) are the foundation of keyboard students’ study. Likewise most musicologists will study part of the Inventions at some stage of their theoretical education. Simone is keen to reach young students, their parents and musicologists, in addition to her usual fan base and plans a series of short videos on a selection of the inventions to connect with this audience.

Simone Dinnerstein says: “The first keyboard pieces of Bach that I remember hearing were his Inventions, when I was nine years old. The music seemed impossibly expressive and virtuosic at the time, and wholly beyond my abilities. Here were two continuous and independent voices, neither of which was subservient to the other. Until then I had thought of music as melody and accompaniment. An instrumental training is as much a training in how to listen as in how to play. In the text that accompanies the Inventions, Bach calls them ‘an honest guide.’ His Inventions and Sinfonias are marvels in demonstrating just how potent counterpoint is as an aid to expression, and how powerful a cantabile voice can be when surrounded by contradiction and elaboration. These small masterpieces have snippets of dances in them, laments and celebrations, simplicity and complexity.”

'An utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation' (New York Times)

“this is a romantic approach, with a limpid, legato touch in many of the Inventions. There is a dynamic rise and fall which emphasises the shape of phrases, and there is a vocal clarity to the contrapuntal strands which keeps us soundly on message for the most part…In the end, most of these performances are very good indeed on their own, but only your individual taste will dictate if you respond to Dinnerstein’s approach.” (MusicWeb International)

TRACKLIST

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Inventions 1-15
1 Invention No. 1 in C Major, BWV 772 01:28
2 Invention No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 773 02:00
3 Invention No. 3 in D Major, BWV 7740 0:50
4 Invention No. 4 in D Minor, BWV 775 01:33
5 Invention No. 5 in E-Flat Major, BWV 776 01:07
6 Invention No. 6 in E Major, BWV 777 02:53
7 Invention No. 7 in E Minor, BWV 778 01:00
8 Invention No. 8 in F Major, BWV 779 00:42
9 Invention No. 9 in F Minor, BWV 780 02:22
10 Invention No. 10 in G Major, BWV 781 00:59
11 Invention No. 11 in G Minor, BWV 782 01:43
12 Invention No. 12 in A Major, BWV 783 01:13
13 Invention No. 13 in A Minor, BWV 784 01:05
14 Invention No. 14 in B-Flat Major, BWV 785 01:33
15 Invention No. 15 in B Minor, BWV 786 01:24

Sinfonias 1-15
16Sinfonia No. 1 in C Major, BWV 787 00:51
17Sinfonia No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 788 03:03
18Sinfonia No. 3 in D Major, BWV 789 01:02
19Sinfonia No. 4 in D Minor, BWV 790 02:45
20Sinfonia No. 5 in E-Flat Major, BWV 791 02:48
21Sinfonia No. 6 in E Major, BWV 792 00:52
22Sinfonia No. 7 in E Minor, BWV 793 02:32
23Sinfonia No. 8 in F Major, BWV 794 01:03
24Sinfonia No. 9 in F Minor, BWV 795 03:22
25Sinfonia No. 10 in G Major, BWV 796 01:06
26Sinfonia No. 11 in G Minor, BWV 797 02:56
27Sinfonia No. 12 in A Major, BWV 798 01:14
28Sinfonia No. 13 in A Minor, BWV 799 02:18
29Sinfonia No. 14 in B-Flat Major, BWV 800 02:10
30Sinfonia No. 15 in B Minor, BWV 801 01:12

PERSONNEL
Simone Dinnerstein, piano