Bach Nostalghia

If the arrangements of J. S. Bach by Busoni and Co. in the early 1900s were intended to make the Baroque composer’s works sound more modern, today they perhaps feel more like relics. But these are sumptuous relics, each transcription stunningly rendered by Swiss pianist Piemontesi, bringing out the grandeur of Bach’s organ works and the crystalline beauty of his music for flute and harpsichord. Piemontesi’s performance of the Italian Concerto is lithe and supple, which makes for a thrilling, addictive listen. And his bookending of this wonderful collection with Busoni’s majestic version of the monumental “Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major” for organ is an ingenious nod to the Clavier-Übung III, Bach’s masterful collection of chorale preludes. Hidden among all of this is an original work by Busoni, the startling “Toccata,” which serves to refresh the ears.