No scoreis sacred No scoreis sacred

Although I knew I loved Loussier’s jazzed-up Bach through his Air on the G String, which was used very memorably for those Hamlet cigar TV adverts that I saw all through my childhood – this was the first full jazzed-up classical album I’d ever properly listened to when I was in my 20s, and I absolutely wore this CD out!

I have to admit, it took me a lot of time to warm up to Bach when I was younger – and I really think this isn’t helped by the habit that most concert pianists have of playing Bach in an overly serious, intellectual, and constipated way. Just my opinion of course... And then I found Glenn Gould’s 1955 recording of the Goldbergs, which was a revelation to me! It was only a few years later that I came across Loussier’s version, and Bach was truly unlocked for me. What I think these two recordings have in common is a sheer exuberance and joy – an unselfconscious delight in the music for its own sake without being concerned about what critics might think. I believe many ‘serious’ pianists could learn a huge amount from Loussier’s version.