ÜBERBACH

The prestigious pianist Sebastian Knauer and the BOS string orchestra offer us a fascinating immersion in the musical universe of Johann Sebastian Bach, through the eyes of the Iranian composer Arash Safaian. Born in Teheran and resident in Munich, Safaian set out to reinterpret Bach’s music in a modern language. The result is an ensemble of five short concertos for piano, vibraphone and string orchestra which, in addition to spreading his success with audiences throughout Europe, has won him the Echo Klassik Prize in 2017 in the category of “Classical without borders”.

Safaian himself explains his work: “I focused on the idea of creating a type of music in which you could listen to Bach without textually hearing Bach. For me Bach is music in its purest form, it does not require deconstruction or historical classification. What I think of when I listen to Bach’s music is that I am hearing the grammar of music, and that is why I have decided to write about his music. I take existing music and change it, compare it, look for original and even new things, it’s another concept of interpretation. The vibraphone merges with the piano in a sound that floats over the work like a ray of light that illuminates it”.

Johann Sebastian Bach Concierto para teclado y cuerda en Re menor, BWV 1052
Arash Safaian UberBach, five concertos on Bach themes for piano, vibraphone and string orchestra