Review by Paul Boekkooi (translated)

Bach is a young violinist with an older man’s soul. To put it differently: he can lift himself into the thought processes of musicians and composers of a past era. Some of them could not hide their musical character, temperament and consequent virtuosity. This had to come to the fore in their music.

A mixture of romantic or lively humouristic pieces can often become too much of a good thing. Not with Bach because he approaches them in his own way. The idioms and styles are chosen in such a way that they create enormous contrasts.

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Yes, there are salon pieces, but also so much more. It is also helpful that Bach performs pieces composed or arranged by violinists like Heifetz and Kreisler. Quite a few new things can be discovered that will excite violin lovers: Cyril Scott’s Lotus Land, both Wieniawski’s pieces, Chanson Polonaise and Obertas, William Kroll’s enchanting Banjo and Fiddle, the brilliant sound personification of Masks from Prokofief’s Ballet Romeo and Juliet in Heifetz arrangement of Zarzycki’s Mazurka.

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There is a lot of panache and passion in Bach’s performance. He knows how to let all elements of style speak idiomatically by the way he combines his bow action, vibrato, subtle sound renderings and contrasts.

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For the rest Bach’s playing in the lyrical pieces is clearly focused on the singing voice. It is with the many character pieces that he triumphs in this production rendering the sound of the violin in the most natural way.