Polish pianist Ewa Pobłocka has been a fixture of the Chopin cycle undertaken by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw. The justification for including Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (Das wohltemperierte Klavier) in the series is, of course, that Chopin's cycle of 24 preludes in all the major and minor keys was based on Bach's work, of which Chopin had and referred to a copy. Pobłocka does not make any effort to play Bach as Chopin might have heard or played it, something that might be an interesting but likely unsuccessful exercise. Instead, using a modern Kawai piano, Pobłocka offers a contemplative yet graceful account that is attractive on its own terms. More than one writer has compared Pobłocka to Dame Myra Hess, and the flavor is indeed similar in the restraint and subtle touch common to the two. Yet here, in Bach, Pobłocka has a style of her own. Sample the "Prelude in F sharp minor, BWV 859," where she gives the music a distinct un-Hess-ian edge. Her Bach palette is broad, and and that's all to the good; she tends more toward carving out a unique identity for each prelude rather than taking them as an overarching group. It's a standout among modern piano performances of The Well-Tempered Clavier, which aren't as common as they used to be.