Nemanja Radulovic & Double Sens - Bach (2016) [CD Rip]

The construction of a rebellious, young classical player can proceed along the lines of image-making, or of unorthodox music-making. With the violinist Nemanja Radulovic you get both. Radulovic has been noted for long hair, leather pants, and ABBA covers, and he's already achieved a good deal of crossover success in Britain. Now, signed to Deutsche Grammophon, he essays more conventional repertory in the form of some Bach standards, but the effect is hardly less outrageous. A co-star with Radulovic on this release is Serb composer Aleksandar Sedlar, who devises violin-and-orchestra arrangements of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ, BWV 565, the "Air" from the Suite No. 3 in D major for orchestra, BWV 1068, and the "Chaconne" from the Partita No. 2 for solo violin in D minor, BWV 1004. Listener reactions to these will be a matter of taste. All are designed to be played at turbocharged speeds, and the album as a whole certainly has a high energy level, even in the actual violin concertos and a rare viola concerto (again featuring Radulovic) purportedly by J.C. Bach, reconstructed years ago by Henri Casadesus. The "Chaconne" may make you feel as though something has been scrawled on a work that is profoundly economical as it stands, but the orchestration in the Toccata and Fugue is quite inventive. At any rate, as the classical world looks for its next Nigel Kennedy, Radulovic appears on this release as a potential candidate for the role. -- James Manheim