I was listening to JS yesterday playing a Bach suite. It is so easy to listen to, so direct. It seems to me that his bow is always coming from the most convenient place prior to beginning a note. Whether above the string or beside it, the act of traversing from there to the contact point is simple and non-stop. Then I was listening to JdP today, and I heard an utterly contrary style of making notes. She coaxes them out of the instrument. The act of starting notes for her is laced in mystery and mist. And don’t get me started on what she does with them once they get spinning. Hers is a heart-wrenching and sumptuous listening experience, plumbing the depths of the world’s soul.

originally published on 12/21/09