Pianist Aristo Sham’s new album is a joyful masterpiece of Bach, Grieg and Busoni
Van Cliburn gold medallist Aristo Sham has released Timeline, an arresting collection of classical piano pieces based on his world tour
Anyone planning to give the gift of music for Christmas should seriously consider Aristo Sham’s new solo piano album.
Concert pianists generally avoid recording Bach in the pure form, possibly for fear of being described as “unauthentic” or too romantic. Sham embraces the baroque spirit, and his arresting and vividly captured Toccata in C minor would keep the purists happy.
An agitated, monophonic opening sparkles, and as his four-part adagio unfolds, Sham impresses with subtle pedal usage and the utmost finesse in phrasing and voice leading.
The no-nonsense fugue then fires up just as things appear to have faded towards a conclusion, and the Hong Kong-born pianist’s contrapuntal play oozes joy and confidence, peppered with crisply executed embellishments along the way and making for highly satisfying – with zero intervention – Bach listening indeed.
When it comes to Bach, the Italian romantic all-rounder Busoni (1866-1924) was one of the best-known “transcribers”, churning out a mixed bag of adaptations, many of which find great favour among pianists today.