Bach: Sonatas & Partitas

Bach’s six suites for unaccompanied violin are the lesser-known counterpart to his six suites for cello, which tend to crop up every time a classical-music-basics playlist is assembled. There is a great number of recordings of these, because most violinists have to learn them as a test of technical skill. Nathan Milstein’s set is a classic one, most worth listening to for his beautiful, velvet sound, which is unusually exposed in pieces like this. Of all of the pieces, the D-minor chaconne is the most extraordinary — 16 minutes of variations on a short theme with a full dramatic arc. Milstein is able to summon the solemnity, sweetness and electricity for which it calls.