Johann Sebastian Bach rarely left his native Saxony, yet he was always well-informed about what was happening elsewhere in Europe. He never visited Italy, yet he deeply understood both recent and older Italian music, and he was attentive to innovations from the Bel Paese, the cradle of the concertante style.
Evidence of this is found in his works, especially for keyboard, based on original pieces by the Venetians Antonio Vivaldi and Benedetto Marcello, in which the master from Eisenach infuses his polyphonic genius into the brilliance and flair of Italian music.
The series L’altro suono, dedicated to ancient and pre-classical repertoire, kicks off with young French harpsichordist Justin Taylor, whom we recently applauded with his ensemble Le Consort.
His remarkable concert and recording career took off in 2015 with a first prize win at the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges, where he also captured the Audience Prize, the Alpha Classics Prize, and the EUBO Developing Trust Prize.
Praised for his “virtuoso, sensitive, and exquisite interpretations,” Taylor has already produced several recordings on musical dynasties (the Forqueray family, the Rameau family, and the Francoeur brothers) and now dedicates a live recital and a corresponding recording for AlphaClassics to exploring Bach and Italy.
