Sonatas and partitas 2 (cd) : vol. 2

Gramophone Awards
2026 Shortlist
Instrumental

Gramophone November 2025
Editor's choice

Chris Thile (mandolin)

Bach, J S: Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004
Bach, J S: Sonata for solo violin No. 3 in C major, BWV1005
Bach, J S: Partita for solo violin No. 3 in E major, BWV1006

For his second recording of Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas, 12 years after the first volume, the mandolin virtuoso opted for a more personal approach, allowing himself to take liberties with the scores, which he recorded in multiple, somewhat untraditional, locations of personal significance. “My mentor, Edgar Meyer, has shown me... you practice Bach... because it makes your life better," Thile says. "Because it makes the world around you seem like a better, happier place. Because communing with something that beautiful, made by a human being, continuing to be made and enjoyed by so many human beings, makes you proud to be human... I love practicing Bach, and I wanted to try and share how that ongoing process feels and sounds to me."