Anthony Tommasini on Till Fellner

"Like most pianists … he grew up playing the 15 Two-Part Inventions, which are essential student pieces, as well as the 15 Sinfonias. … Bach lovers will surely forget that the inventions and sinfonias are considered teaching tools when they hear Mr. Fellner’s new ECM recording. As before, he is an elegant, sensitive and impressively articulate Bach player. To fill out the generous program he includes a sparkling account of Bach’s Fifth French Suite. Sometimes Mr. Fellner brings freshness to these familiar works by taking unusual but very convincing tempos. The Invention in E moves at a slow but steady pace, allowing the syncopations between the two lines, which almost always move in opposite directions, to come through playfully. But in the Invention in F — a bustling piece, all leaping intervals and fleeting passagework — Mr. Fellner takes a breathless tempo. The pristine clarity of his playing prevents the music from becoming a jumble. Yet there is more to the magic than that. No matter how quick the tempo in any of these performances, Mr. Fellner’s playing always sounds relaxed and confident, an effective blend of daring speed and cool control" ("Classical Recordings," New York Times, 5/10/09).