Brooklyn-born pianist Simone Dinnerstein made her mark with Bach, diverging from time to time into modern crossover experiments. This recording of Bach's well-worn Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772-801, follows in the path blazed by her earlier Bach releases and even extends it a bit, for the Inventions and Sinfonias are easier to treat as individual character pieces than, say, the Goldberg Variations. And that's just what Dinnerstein does here. Each piece has a specific atmosphere teased out of its simple counterpoint, and it's a bit hard to imagine Bach's reaction to a few of these. But really Dinnerstein is no Glenn Gould, and her interpretations are personal rather than radical. Mostly they're on the quiet side, and even if you couldn't play them like this on the harpsichord the dynamic range and the variety of tempi are not unduly wide. The trouble with such a subjective reading of Bach is that its reception depends pretty heavily on the individual, but unless you're a confirmed follower of the historical approach you should try this set of Inventions and Sinfonias that turns them into Albumblätter. A point in the album's favor is warm, clear sound from perhaps the premier American recital hall, the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York.
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