Murray Perahia is considered one of the leading interpreters of J.S. Bach’s music. The pianist began a series of video blogs looking in turn at each of Bach’s French Suites.
In the first installment, Perahia performs extracts from Suite No. 1 in D minor, while discussing how Bach created its different parts. He begins by examining the suite’s third movement, which he suggests reminds him almost of a passage from a chorale.
Perahia released a recording of Bach’s French Suites on Deutsche Grammophon in 2016. It is his first recording with the label after a lengthy career with Sony Classical.
He has performed as a concert pianist for over 40 years. As well as his solo activities, he serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. He has made a number of acclaimed recordings of Bach’s work, such as the Goldberg Variations, partitas, and English Suites.
Apart from works by Bach, some of Perahia’s major recordings include a five-disc set of Chopin, Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, and a recording of Brahms’ Händel Variations, for which he won the 2011 Gramophone Award.
You can keep up to date with future installments in Perahia’s series by subscribing to Deutsche Grammophon on Youtube.