After Bach II
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| After Bach II | ||||
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| Recording by | ||||
| Released | May 10, 2024 | |||
| Recorded | April 18–20, 2017, June 21, 2023 | |||
| Studio | Mechanics Hall (Worcester, Massachusetts) | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Brad Mehldau chronology | ||||
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After Bach II is a solo album by pianist Brad Mehldau. It consists of five compositions from Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and his Partita for keyboard No. 4, interspersed with pieces by Mehldau. The performances were recorded in 2017 and 2023 and released by Nonesuch Records in 2024.
This album is a follow-up to Mehldau's After Bach, which was released in 2018.[1][2]
Music and recording
The album was recorded on April 18–20, 2017, and June 21, 2023, at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts.[3] The Bach material includes four preludes and a fugue from Well-Tempered Clavier and the Allemande movement of the Partita for keyboard No. 4.[3] The other pieces are by Mehldau, including his variations on the theme of Bach's Goldberg Variations.[3] The origin of these variations was an invitation for Mehldau to play at the Verbier Festival: he did not want to play one of Bach's originals in a program performed by classical pianists, so instead improvised a variation.[4] Two of Mehldau's variations on the album are in 5
8 time and one is in 7
4.[5]
Release and reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| DownBeat |  [6] |
| Tom Hull | B-[7] |
After Bach II was released by Nonesuch Records on May 10, 2024.[3] The AllMusic reviewer mentioned the variations on the Goldberg Variations as a highlight, writing: "these are unlike anything done elsewhere, and they provide new avenues that one hopes Mehldau will explore in further releases".[1] The DownBeat reviewer wrote: "The precise and intricate hallmarks of Baroque-era melody and harmony writing bond the two composers and give After Bach II its technical untiy. [...] The album stimulates, challenges and provides fastidious guidance all at once."[6]
