Tag: johann sebastian bach

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Francesco Tristano announces the release of Bach: The 6 French Suites BWV 812 to 817, out on June 19 on naïve. The album continues his exploration of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach, following The 6 Partitas, The 6 English Suites and The 7 Toccatas, and forms part of his ongoing project to record Bach’s complete works for keyboard, developed through his platform intothefuture.

The first single, Bach: French Suite in D minor BWV 812, 5. Menuet II is now available on all platforms. This initial release offers a clear introduction to the character of the recording and its approach to Bach’s writing.

Composed between 1722 and 1725, the French Suites offer a more intimate and lyrical perspective on Bach’s music. Built around a sequence of dance movements, the works unfold with clarity, balance and a natural sense of flow. In this recording, FT focuses on continuity and contrast, shaping each suite as a complete musical arc while bringing out the expressive depth and melodic quality of the music.

The project also extends beyond sound through an ongoing collaboration with photographer Breno Rotatori, whose images accompany each release and form a parallel visual language. Together, they create a unified artistic universe where music and image evolve side by side.

Francesco Tristano first single bach french suites

Listen to the single here

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Francesco Tristano presents a new chapter in his exploration of Bach’s keyboard works with the release of Bach: The 7 Toccatas, out today, October 31, on naïve.

Recorded in Tokyo in June 2025 over five intense days, the album captures the vitality and precision of Bach’s early keyboard works. With this new release, Tristano continues his exploration of Bach’s music following The 6 Partitas and The 6 English Suites, revealing once again his personal dialogue with the composer’s creative universe.

The seven toccatas by Johann Sebastian Bach form a cycle whose origins and purpose remain uncertain. Written around 1707, when Bach was in his early twenties, these works demonstrate the young composer’s experimentation with form and style. Influenced by the Northern German school and his encounter with Dietrich Buxtehude, Bach developed a language that was both expressive and virtuosic, merging Italian eloquence with German rigor.

For Francesco Tristano the essence of the toccata lies in its meaning: to play. It is music that celebrates movement, skill and joy. In these pieces, speed, endurance and precision coexist with the pure pleasure of performance. Tristano approaches them as a living link between past and present, music that continues to speak directly to us, three centuries later, with the same energy and sense of wonder.

Excerpt by Javier Blánquez