The Italian pianist Filippo Gorini took advantage of the world health crisis to immerse himself in The Art of Fugue, Johann Sebastian Bach’s unfinished mystical masterpiece: ‘The view that it should be seen solely as a theoretical marvel is misguided: as the counterpoints and canons evolve in formal complexity, so does their emotional tension, until the heartbreaking mystery of the unfinished Fuga XIV’, says the young pianist, winner of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust prize in 2020, whose first two albums for Alpha have been very well received (Diapason d’Or, 5 Stars in BBC Music Magazine, etc.). In parallel with the release of the disc, Filippo Gorini will launch a website (www. TheArtOfFugueExplored.com), with a documentary series featuring conversations with personalities, films about Bach’s work and more. The young pianist has even gone so far as to write poems and haikus about the work: ‘We pray in trepidation, / When the blessed night is here...’

‘Never is there a whiff of tastelessness, over-statement or superficiality in Gorini’s playing’ – Gramophone (Diabelli Variations, ALPHA296)

‘This is, it soon becomes evident, one of the great interpretations of one of Beethoven’s most invigorating, far-ranging and finally ethereal works’ – ***** BBC Music Magazine (Diabelli Variations)

‘This is a Hammerklavier to cherish’ – International Piano (Beethoven Piano Sonatas opp. 106 & 111, ALPHA591)