Bach: [Keyboard music]

Rémi Geniet piano
79:00
English Suite no. 1 BWV 806, Partita no. 4 BWV 828, Toccata in d BWV 911, Caprice sur le départ de son frère bien-aimé BWV 992

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]émi Geniet is a young French pianist who came second in the 2013 Queen Elizabeth Competition and as a result made this, his first recording, at the age of twenty-one. He possesses a formidable technique with extreme rhythmic precision. He favours a detached style of playing, somewhat in the manner of Glenn Gould, though without the mannerisms. This style can get a bit wearing on a modern Steinway and, while mimicking the plucking of a harpsichord, it can become mechanical, particularly when combined with such a strict rhythmic sense. It is exciting playing, though, with great drive in faster movements, the gigues in particular, and Geniet also displays a good sense of what the different dance movements are about. He is best in the pieces composed by the young Bach, the Caprice sur le départ and the D minor Toccata, where he conveys the composer’s exploration of the keyboard medium very convincingly. An impressive debut from a young player who still has some distance to travel but from whom we will certainly be hearing more.

Noel O’Regan

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