Although C.P.E. Bach originally composed his six sonatas dedicated to the Duke of Württemberg for the clavichord, the modern concert grand easily lends itself to the composer’s inventive and expressive genius. Given these works’ musical and historical importance, one wonders why so few pianists have taken them up on disc as a cycle, including Keith Jarrett, whose 1994 recordings are only now being published for the first time.
I’ve always felt Jarrett’s pianism in J.S. Bach, Handel, and Mozart to be clean, conscientious, and proficient, yet somewhat inhibited or guarded, as if he’s reluctant to let go. And so it is here. A telling example concerns the A minor sonata’s virtuosic Finale: In certain respects this movement foreshadows the dark undercurrents of Mozart’s A minor Sonata K. 310, yet Jarrett’s immaculate yet rather foursquare interpretation lacks Ana-Marija Markovina’s dynamic intensity and forward thrust. Her inflected phrasing also intensifies the audacity of the A-flat sonata Finale’s rising chromatic lines, whereas the same passages seem to catch Jarrett unaware.
On the other hand, Jarrett’s superbly articulated E-flat sonata opening Allegro is a model of phrase shaping and spacing, while his slow movements usually are as focused, engaging, and beautifully sung out as his jazz ballads. For instance, the E minor’s central Adagio reveals Jarrett’s sonority opening up, with more variety of touch and palpable note-to-note continuity. Ironically, perhaps, the best fusion of Jarrett’s keyboard prowess as an improviser and C.P.E. Bach’s unfettered creativity remains with my reference harpsichord versions by Mahan Esfahani (Hyperion) and Bob van Asperen (Warner).
