Daniil Trifonov – Bach: Contrapunctus 14, BWV 1080, 19 (Compl. by Trifonov)

@daniiltrifonov is intrigued by Bach’s attempts to base the work on the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio, but observes that the result is “far more than a scientific experiment: as always with Bach, he managed to make music of indescribable beauty and emotion”. Trifonov’s imaginative interpretation captures the sense of the work as a cycle, treating it as a living, organic whole. This chimes with the inspiration he takes from spending time in nature, whether hiking or practising Qigong, a form of meditation that values the healing energy of trees. “And the tree is a good metaphor for The Art of Fugue’s overall structure,” he notes. “The theme is the trunk, the fugues are the branches, all the permutations within each fugue are the leaves…” Bach did not live to finish The Art of Fugue’s final contrapunctus, and a number of musicians have attempted conjectural completions. For this recording, Trifonov, himself an accomplished composer, has created a seamless, stylistically respectful conclusion wo