Air - The Bach Album

Anne Akiko Meyers is celebrated as one of the world’s premiere concert violinists, described as a ‘trailblazing violinist’, one who is constantly ‘charting her own course.’ She has recently collaborated with top jazz artists such as Chris Botti, pop singing sensation, Il Divo and jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis, who composed cadenzas for her in Mozart’s G Major Violin Concerto. This new recording of Bach’s masterpieces for violin and orchestra is Anne’s third release for eOne. Alongside the two concertos for violin, Anne has recorded the Concerto for Two Violins, performing both parts on her two Stradivari violins: her recently acquired Ex- Napoleon Molitor Stradivarius (as featured on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC) and the Royal Spanish Stradivarius, heard on her last two eOne recordings. Also included on this disc are exquisite new arrangements of the “Air” from the Suite No. 3 and the Bach-Gounod “Ave Maria.” Anne is quoted as saying “It was magical recording the Bach album with the English Chamber Orchestra and the ‘Ex-Molitor/Napoleon’ Stradivari violin, dated 1697. The special combination of beautiful repertoire, including ‘Air’, ‘Largo’ and ‘Ave Maria’, the Violin Concertos and the fresh take of recording both parts of the Double Concerto on 2 different Strads, was pure joy to make!” BBC Music Magazine June 2012 **** “These two Stradivarius violins clearly reveal the contrapuntal weave of Bach's lines...Meyers and Steven Mercurio interpret the concertos as exciting competition - agitated 'concitato' - rather than 'concerted' accord.” Gramophone Magazine July 2012 “It's true that the Royal Spaniard Strad, which takes the bottom part in the Double, has a broader, darker tone than the golden-sounding ex-Molitor but I haven't heard portamento or vibrato like that on a solo Bach disc since David Oistrakh.”