Aparté is proud to present Albert Cano Smit’s first recording, a fascinating and personal interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Art of Fugue. To be released on 7 March 2025.
Aparté announces the release of a first recording by Albert Cano Smit, a young pianist with a promising international career. This new album offers a rigorous yet inspired reading of Bach’s ultimate masterpiece, The Art of the Fugue, a mythical work that has continued to fascinate performers and listeners for centuries.
A pianist of singular talent
Described by the international press as ‘a pianist of great maturity’ (CBC Music), Albert Cano Smit quickly established himself on the musical scene thanks to his elegant and expressive playing. A prizewinner in numerous prestigious competitions, he performs regularly as a soloist with world-renowned orchestras, while cultivating a passion for the solo repertoire and chamber music. The Art of the Fugue: a universal work revisited
With this recording, Albert Cano Smit offers a daring approach to this abstract and timeless work. His piano interpretation explores Bach’s infinite nuances and contrapuntal subtleties, offering a new and captivating listening experience.
‘This gigantic work, built out of a simple theme, achieves unprecedented heights of mastery, beauty, counterpoint and humanity that are as remarkable today as they were when it was written,’ explains the pianist.
He adds: ‘I am certain that this is a piece that needs to and was meant to be performed and brought to life. My aim is to make it accessible to everyone.’ A musicological insight into a fascinating work
‘Die Kunst der Fuge. This is the last work of the author, which contains all sorts of counterpoints and canons on a single principal subject.’
This is how Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach described this magisterial work in an obituary from 1754. Composed mainly between 1745 and 1746, after the Goldberg Variations and the second volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier, this masterpiece was conceived for keyboard, probably in the form of a score with four staves for greater legibility. The performers were free to choose their instrument – harpsichord, clavichord, organ or piano.
The Art of the Fugue reflects an exceptional mastery of counterpoint: single, double, triple and mirror fugues.
Despite the incompleteness of some of the last fugue, this work, which is both pedagogical and artistic, transcends the centuries through its unique architecture and universal expression.
Albert Cano Smit has taken up the challenge of interpreting this demanding work while respecting its essence, interposing the canons between the fugues and creating a subtle balance between unity and variety. This approach, which reflects both a deep understanding of the musical text and a unique artistic sensibility, brings The Art of the Fugue to life as a timeless and accessible work.
Albert Cano Smit
Spanish-Dutch pianist Albert Cano Smit has distinguished himself by his exceptional talent and musical sensitivity. Winner of the first prize at the Naumburg International Piano Competition 2017 and of the first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 2019, he has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the San Diego Symphony.
He has performed in such legendary venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Trained at the Juilliard School, where he was awarded the Rubinstein Prize for Piano in 2020, he is also renowned for his commitment to contemporary music, creating numerous solo works as part of his recital programmes, written for him by Stephen Hough, Miquel Oliu and Katherine Balch.
He is also active as a chamber musician, collaborating with renowned artists and ensembles such as the Quatuor Ébène, Gary Hoffman and Pinchas Zukerman.