Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin

Listen to what remains after a note has stopped. A low pitch can continue to support the phrase in your memory while the violin has already moved upwards. Nathan Milstein makes that illusion of several voices feel like a living conversation rather than a demonstration of difficulty.

This is his 1973 London recording for Deutsche Grammophon of Bach’s six solo sonatas and partitas, BWV 1001–1006. It is distinct from the earlier Capitol cycle made in the 1950s. The music, the performance and its publication belong to different moments: Baroque compositions, a 1973 interpretation and a recording issued with 1975 phonographic rights. Keeping those layers separate helps identify what is actually being heard.

An ear for implied voices

A violin cannot sustain every chord tone as a keyboard can. It can spread a chord, move between registers and let the listener connect sounds across time. First follow the upper line; on another pass, notice where the lower notes return. Milstein’s continuity allows the separate gestures to belong to a larger phrase. You need not read a score to hear a reply or recognise the return of an idea.

Different kinds of movement

The sonatas’ slow openings and contrapuntal fugues offer a different experience from the dance movements in the partitas. A fugue can be approached as an idea returning at different pitches; a dance can be followed through its characteristic step. Neither needs to become an academic test. After hearing the great Ciaccona alone, return to the earlier movements of Partita No. 2 and notice how dramatically the finale enlarges their scale.

Recognition and later editions

The Recording Academy lists this cycle as a 1976 Grammy winner, evidence of recognition near its release rather than proof of unanimous critical agreement. DG’s 2019 reissue essay celebrates its clarity from a later perspective. The linked audio comes from the 2019 Complete Deutsche Grammophon collection: tracks 10–41 contain all thirty-two Bach movements. The surrounding concertos and recital pieces are not part of the six-work cycle. A 1998 CD and a 2019 vinyl edition are separate reissues; no claim is made that this digital collection uses the latter’s mastering.