BACH: 20 pieces from the Notebook of...

BACH: 20 pieces from the Notebook of Anna Magdelena Bach; Twelve Little Preludes; Six Little Preludes; “Italian” Concerto. Joao Carlos Martins, piano. Tomato 2696422 (compact disc). For those who struggle through the Anna Magdelena Notebook, a professional pianist’s readings can sound disconcertingly effortless, even facile. But what Brazilian pianist Martins brings to these miniatures, and to the “Little” Preludes as well, is a remarkable sense of their individual character. Martins makes generous use of the piano’s range of colorings, offering a variety of articulations, pedalings and inflections within a framework of flexible tempos. Rather than self-serving, the results seem to-the-point. The “Italian” Concerto receives a robust and kinetic reading in its outer portions, with a restrained slow movement. The recorded sound is close-up but never overbearing.