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Stunning!   January 29, 2004

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Wow   November 6, 2003
  6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Fleck wins 5 stars for his cross over success with "Perpetual Motion."

This is an excellent collection from the eclectic blue grass banjo master. His success at Bach's "Prelude" (#11) is sublime. His attack on Scarlatti's Sonata in C makes him the Sun Tzu of the instrument. Also, his interplay with Evelyn Glennie on the marimba is very appealing. Josua Bell, Gary Hoffman, Chris Thile, John Williams and the other excellent musicians take this to the top.

This is a milestone step forward for music.


Stunning!   September 5, 2003
  11 out of 17 found this review helpful

I am an absolute classical music purists. I am often upset by hearing Bach played on piano, since he never composed for the instrument, so that should tell you how narrow-minded I am about classical music. My attention was drawn to this album when I heard the Bach cello suite on NPR one day. It is a late Bach piece, and in my opinion the single piece that does the cello more justice than any other. It is simply a splendid piece. When the announcer introduced Bela Fleck, of all people to be playing it, I was skeptical to say the least, but I opened my ears and listened. Within seconds of the downbeat, I foundmyself in some of the most amazing playing on an instrument for which I have rarely had any respect. Not only does he play every note as it is written, and play them all well, but it sounds good! Amazingly good! I think the banjo actually works really well with lots of baroque music. That interpretation was truly something special.

I do not yet own the CD, but will in the not to distant future, so I cannot speak for the rest of it, but I will say that I am again skeptical about how the banjo will mix with romantic music. I don't think the instrument has the ability to express music in the way a piano or other stringed instrument can, which is one reason Bach works well because there is little room for "interpretation." I am quite curious, though, to hear how it sounds!


Excellent concept and great banjo, but...   August 7, 2003
  6 out of 12 found this review helpful

Well, it's not news that Bela Fleck is a banjo virtuoso. And the fact that he has adapted the banjo to the Classical genre is nothing less than awsome. The music on this CD is absolutely superb and unique.

However, what would make the selections even better, in my opinion, would be if Fleck used more accompaniment, perhaps even being backed by a full orchestra. The banjo, being a tenor instrument, needs bass to balance it out. Some of the selections have adequate bass, but most do not. Some have no instrumentation at all other than Fleck's banjo. Somehow, it lacks depth.

Still, I can't help but recommend this CD, especially to Bela Fleck fans. It's really something special.


Smiling Bach   January 21, 2003
  5 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is just a wonderful collection. It was very risky, I think, for Bela Fleck to stretch himself and try his hand at a "classical" repertoire that he wasn't familiar with. I don't see how anyone could see this CD as anything but a victorious effort. The J.S.Bach pieces are especially good, because I think that Fleck does a wonderful job of keeping their original "flavor." Bach was a master (probably THE master) of baroque counterpoint and fugues, and it seems like the banjo really lends itself to those kinds of interweaving melodies. Edgar Meyer is the best "cross-over" string player (folk/classical music) that I know of. How cool is it that he plays piano with Fleck on the Tchaikovsky piece?! (Note: one reviewer said that the Tchaik piece didn't fit in with the others...I totally disagree). The marimba really works well with banjo on this disc as well. Apparently, the Paganini piece helped to spark Fleck's interest in going classical...that and his friendship with Meyer (one of the best things about this CD are the notes that Fleck writes about how he first started on the path of producing it). Of all the tracks, I'm sure that I listen to the Debussy most often. Who would have thought that a banjo could be played so seamlessly!