One of my favorite moments from the recital. Photo taken by Germer Team.
My last recital in 2018, or maybe my first of 2019 I am not quite sure. I must have been a mad man to have chosen this magnificent piece to play this early in my life. The piece is 'the only most significant piece in music history', stated Tedesco. Though the Ciaccona/Chaconne is not super technical demanding (there are some fast scales and stretches), it requires one to be acquired with exeptional musicality and sympathy to Bach's music, which I clearly lack. It is important to note that Bach wrote this piece shortly after the death of his wife Maria, so it must have been an emotionally-intense event for him (but see here). All the grieves, the mourns, and the emotions can be felt flowing in this last movement of BWV 1004.
The Chaconne is the longest movement among all five movements of the second partita for violin BWV 1004; in fact, it is longer than all of the other movements combined, assumming one is playing 'correctly'. Throughout the music, we can see the formation of the theme following the Chaconne rhythm and structure, the development of 64 variations, the building up of emotional and technical tensions at the center of each section, the use of various ornamentations at the player's discretion, and lastly the universality of Bach's music.
I deeply regret that I had not learnt and studied this masterpiece enough to convey all of the mentioned information in this performance. Nonetheless, I am grateful that I was able to contribute to the sharing of Bach music in Vietnam, where classical repertoires, especially those from pre-romantic periods, are not widely played and known in common public.
La Catedral by A. Barrios, at the same recital.