Hannes Minnaar drew international attention in 2010 after winning third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Luckily for Hannes Minnaar, he has managed to maintain his name recognition: in 2012 he won an Edison for his CD with Rachmaninov & Ravel and in May 2013 he made his debut with the Concertgebouworkest. Minnaar knows how to distinguish between main and side issues, according
… to the jury report of the Edison Foundation. These are qualities that come in handy for Hannes Minnaar in the layered world of his latest CD. The (modern) grand piano did not even exist when Bach entrusted his music to paper. But that has not stopped Liszt, Busoni and Rachmaninov from approaching Bach's lines from their richly resonating string box. We mainly hear transcriptions of all kinds of Bach evergreens, including the very fanciful arrangement that Percy Grainger made of Schafe können sicher weiden. In addition, there are beautiful interpretations of Franck's Prélude, Choral et Fugue and Liszt's masterly Fantasie en Fugue over BACH. (HJ)more
