GEOFFROY COUTEAU 19 Does the decision to turn to Bach for your first solo album since completing your Brahms cycle reflect a form of continuity? Geoffroy Couteau : Indeed it does, in so far as Bach has illuminated my understanding of Brahms’ work. Immersing myself in his music enabled me to grasp the roots of the German Romantic repertoire, of which he was one of the great inspirers. I also recorded the transcription of Bach's Chaconne in D minor, Bearbeitet Für die linke Hand allein: 'arranged for the left hand alone, by Brahms, released on the same album as Brahms' First Piano Concerto, Op. 15 in D minor, with the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est. It was no doubt a way of projecting myself forward, without yet knowing what my next project would be, since I was not at that point performing the Goldberg Variations. How would you describe Bach’s influence on your own artistic journey? It has been essential, as it has been for many musicians. Bach is a pivotal figure in my life. I have listened to his music extensively, to the point of maintaining an almost obsessive relationship with the composer. His Englische Suiten, on the recording by Murray Perahia, held me spellbound for many years and, in a sense, proved decisive in my decision to enter the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris.
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