Arabella Steinbacher Presents Bach & Pärt

Released on Pentatone, Steinbacher is accompanied on this disc by the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and violinist Christoph Koncz

Violinist Arabella Steinbacher recently released a new disc of works for violin and orchestra, by the Baroque master J. S. Bach and the living minimalist composer Arvo Pärt.

Three major Bach concerti — the A minor, E major, and D minor Double Concerto — are framed on the album by some of Pärt's reflective solo works, Fratres and Spiegel im Spiegel.

"The slow movement from Bach’s A Minor Concerto was the reason that, at the age of four, I knew I wanted to play the violin for the rest of my life," Steinbacher said. "Of course, I had no idea at the time what that would really mean — but I was so overwhelmed by the beauty and depth of Bach’s music that there was no question for me: I simply had to become a musician!"

"For me, Pärt’s music represents our human nature, the inner struggle that we must deal with repeatedly throughout our lives," she continued. "From the quiet beginning, Fratres increases to absolute ecstasy… and suddenly time stands still, the feeling of eternity arises."

"As different as Bach and Pärt may be, they have a spiritual and sacred origin in common. Their music takes me back to myself and brings me peace every time I hear or play it."

You can purchase the album here.

A student of Ana Chumachenco at Munich's University of Music and Theatre, Steinbacher received musical inspiration and guidance from Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis.

She records exclusively for Pentatone, and her discography includes her Mozart recording cycle with Festival Strings Lucerne and the recording of “The Four Seasons” of both, Astor Piazzolla and Antonio Vivaldi,

She has toured extensively with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, and Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken.

Arabella currently plays the violins of Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1718, known as the "ex Benno Walter," and the Guarneri del Gesu "Sainton," Cremona 1744, both generously provided by a private Swiss Foundation.