Review – Het Nederlands Dagblad

Here is the English translation of the text.

A pianist playing Bach’s music is not unique. Lute and harpsichord music can technically be played quite easily on the piano. Pianists also perform his works, but often in nineteenth-century arrangements where many notes were frequently added. Pianist Jan-Willem Rozenboom takes a different approach on this CD.

“Not a note too many” could be his motto. No extra notes have been added to the transcriptions he created. Thus, you hear the organ chorale ‘Ich ruf zu dir’ not in the full version by Ferruccio Busoni, but in the ‘barer,’ yet beautifully sounding organ version. Rozenboom went a step further. He also arranged several vocal Bach works, such as arias from the St Matthew Passion and from a cantata. His rendition of Bach’s famous violin Chaconne, played in the piano version by Brahms, is monumental.

Rozenboom is not only a classical pianist who previously released CDs with works by Schubert and Bach’s Goldberg Variations. For years, he has also been the regular accompanist for singer Guus Meeuwis. This prompted Rozenboom to turn their hit ‘Brabant’ into a fugue in the style of Bach. A lovely encore. Rozenboom’s playing is assured and tasteful, and above all, radiates peace.