Allan Kozinn on András Schiff's Bach Partitas

"This is Mr. Schiff’s second traversal of these works on disc; the first was a 1983 studio recording for Decca that was highly regarded in its day, and still is, but that sounds positively dumpy beside this vigorously played, beautifully recorded ECM version. Mr. Schiff’s tempos are brisker and harder driven now, and the clarity of texture that has long been his hallmark is greatly magnified: his articulation could hardly be sharper, and his ability to sustain it through a performance of all six works in one sitting is extraordinary. At times his seemingly endless well of energy can seem overbearing. Mr. Schiff’s careful balancing of Bach’s lines within fast-moving movements seems to have an intellectual severity that overrides the music’s visceral joys. … But Mr. Schiff knows how to lighten up too. His minuets are consistently spirited and bright hued. And his subtly shaded accounts of the relaxed Praeludium of the B flat Partita, several of the sarabandes and the Tempo di Gavotta of the E minor Partita are pictures of elegance and transparency. Those are the qualities, along with Mr. Schiff’s fine-grained focus, that stay with you" ("Classical Recordings," New York Times, 9/6/09).