Man in the Middle

Mandolin virtuoso and composer Chris Thile, a multiple–Grammy Award winner and a MacArthur Fellow, has long been known as an audacious improviser and a tireless collaborator whose work has incorporated bluegrass, folk, rock, jazz, and classical elements. Besides his brilliant bandmates in Punch Brothers, his fellow travelers have also included pianist Brad Mehldau, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, guitarist Michael Daves, and double bassist/composer Edgar Meyer, among others. But this time Thile has taken on perhaps his greatest musical challenge all by himself with Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, which comprises three works written for solo violin: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002; and Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. While Thile has often included pieces by Bach in his live repertoire, alongside his own work and his interpretations of work by artists ranging from Bill Monroe to Radiohead, this disc, produced by his friend and mentor Meyer, fulfills a long-held dream to create studio recordings of these pieces rendered on mandolin. Thile says the recording sessions were an opportunity “to interact with the greatest musician who ever lived."