Kotaro Fukuma – J.S. Bach: Piano Transcriptions (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Kotaro Fukuma – J.S. Bach: Piano Transcriptions (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:15:08 minutes | 2,23 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos Japan

For many years now, I have been playing piano transcriptions in my recitals, and the programme on this disc was originally devised for my concert at the Valletta Baroque Music Festival in Malta in January 2020. I have special affinity with many of the pieces, but here I will share just a couple. One is my own transcription of the aria “Erbarme Dich, mein Gott”, which I first performed at a Preface concert entitled “Homage to Toru Takemitsu”. As I explained on that occasion, Takemitsu loved this aria; he would play it every time he set to work on a new composition, and also by chance he heard this piece on the radio the day before he died. The other piece that is close to my heart is the Passacaglia and Fugue in Eugen d’Albert’s transcription, which I played when I collaborated with Mathieu Ganio, danseur étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet. Until then, Mathieu was mostly cast as a prince, but in this project, he took on a new challenge to perform a one-man play. I still remember vividly how he appeared on stage with this music, naked down to the waist, like the image of Christ on the way towards his crucifixion.

Tracklist:
01. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208 “Jagdkantate”: No. 9, Schafe können sicher weiden (Arr. E. Patri for Piano) (04:41)
02. Kotaro Fukuma – Busoni: 10 Chorale Preludes, BV B 27 (Excerpts): No. 2, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme [After J.S. Bach’s BWV 645] (03:06)
03. Kotaro Fukuma – Busoni: 10 Chorale Preludes, BV B 27 (Excerpts): No. 3, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland [After J.S. Bach’s BWV 659] (04:20)
04. Kotaro Fukuma – Busoni: 10 Chorale Preludes, BV B 27 (Excerpts): No. 5, Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ [After J.S. Bach’s BWV 639] (02:54)
05. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, Pt. 2: No. 10, Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Arr. M. Hess for Piano) (03:30)
06. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29: No. 1, Sinfonia (Arr. C. Saint-Saëns for Piano) (03:21)
07. Kotaro Fukuma – Liszt: Preludes & Fugues by J.S. Bach, S. 462: No. 1 in A Minor (After J.S. Bach’s BWV 543) (10:14)
08. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: Flute Sonata in E-Flat Major, BWV 1031: II. Siciliano (Arr. W. Kempff for Piano) (03:41)
09. Kotaro Fukuma – Brahms: 5 Studies, Anh. 1a/1: No. 5, Chaconne nach J. S. Bach (After J.S. Bach’s BWV 1004) (15:39)
10. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, Pt. 2: No. 39, Erbarme dich (Arr. K. Fukuma for Piano) (06:36)
11. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582 (Arr. E. D’Albert for Piano) (11:47)
12. Kotaro Fukuma – Bach: An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653 (Arr. S. Feinberg for Piano) (05:13)

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