Andrei Ionita and Seong-Jin Cho - Bach Arioso (Verbier Festival 2018)

Andrei Ionita/Seong-jin Cho Bach Arioso link

For the encore piece of Andrei Ionita and Seong-Jin Cho’s performance at the Verbier festival in 2018, they chose Bach’s Arioso (Adagio in G) from Cantata BWV 156.

With the general trend for the past few years of playing anything baroque/Bach with extreme lightness and a baroque bow hold

(Compared to the heavy romantic-ness of Bach in Rostropovich’s time) we can see Andrei using a baroque bow hold and playing very lightly with many adornments/embellishments and Seong-Jin playing lightly with barely any pedal.

Although light and beautiful, this piece is brought to life by Andrei’s musical intensity (which in my opinion is the greatest aspect of his playing), however a critique might be that it can get too romantic at times (however ultimately stays baroque).

His right hand/bow is masterful in this piece, breathing with every phrase and really letting the Bach stay moving without feeling too airy. It's refreshing to listen to. His vibrato is minimalist with barely any and sometimes excluded entirely in phrases, which I like as it really allows the music to sing by its own beauty (and Andrei’s bow speed).

Overall this piece provides a great encore for the Shostakovich (Andrei Ionita/Seong-jin Cho: Shostakovich Sonata), and provide a nice palate cleanser after all that heavy romance and contemporary music (as a true encore piece should).