“For many years,” Bojan told me, “my recording output with my group Illyria Consort lay predominantly with little known repertoire. This all changed when I decided to record Sonatas and Partitas for unaccompanied violin by JS Bach. Suddenly, I had to deal with the fact that I was about to record works that were not only familiar to many listeners, but that I may risk being found out in lacking a unique voice and interpretation in these works entirely.

"This rather new situation brought a level of stress previously not experienced, however it was also a necessary step in my career, as it made me realise that I too might have something new to say in the well known repertoire and don’t need to keep unearthing lesser known works and composers alone.”

So did that same mindset carry over into the violin concertos?
“My approach to JS Bach’s violin concertos is very similar to the one I had when recording his Sonatas and Partitas—just try not to ruin it! The saying goes that it is very difficult to ruin Bach’s music, but judging by my attempts when preparing for this recording, it was certainly a possibility that I had to avoid.

"Along the years I had a chance to perform these works, hear them at concerts, and even record them, which all helped me form a certain way I’d like them to sound. Performing them in front of an audience teaches you about the big picture found in these works and how listeners react to your interpretation. The fact that we had a chance to perform these concertos in Malvern, only a few days before we started recording them, was of immense value in helping me form my final interpretative decisions on what works and what doesn’t.”

Were there any surprises or discoveries that came up during the sessions themselves?
“Perhaps the biggest revelation was how exciting and risky it felt when we were recording the Concerto in D minor, better known in its version for a keyboard instrument. The incessant stream of rapid notes was like walking on a tightrope. It felt like I was using a part of my brain not used since I’ve recorded a concerto by Pietro Locatelli, who also wrote a whole movement of his violin concerto Op. 3 No. 12 using only semiquavers.

"The other revelation of even greater importance during these sessions was just how necessary it was to keep a good ambiance during the session. My very supportive colleagues were responsible for that and I’m immensely grateful to them for their right amount of the jovial and professional parts of our day during these sessions.

"Keith Jarrett said that art is a balance between perfectionism and hedonism. I’ve never worked in an environment in which we, as a group, came closer to that ideal.”

What is it, do you think, that makes these concertos so timeless? And how have they intersected with your own life as a musician?“I can tell you about my experience of knowing these works up till now. My first recording of these concertos was a recording made by Gidon Kremer, the one in which he played both solo parts in the Concerto for Two Violins, which I listened to a lot in my early youth.

"My first concert as a student on the baroque violin was in Paris in 2003 when I auditioned to Christophe Coin for a performance of the Concerto in A minor in one of the Bach Cantatas series we performed in a church in Paris. I remember a strange experience following my audition for Christophe, who was directing the concert and wanted to hear a new student at the Conservatoire before accepting me as a soloist at this concert. After I played it, he was silent for a minute. Eventually, he said that I should watch out for my legato that turned occasionally into a portato. He didn’t say a word after that, so I packed my violin and left the room in silence, not knowing if I passed the audition or not.

"I hope that he’d approve of the version that we recorded with the AAM, at least in the type of bow stroke I used. But perhaps the biggest influence on me was recording these works more than ten years ago with my teacher from the Guildhall School of Music, Rachel Podger, and her group Brecon Baroque. That was some recording to follow—and I’m very proud that I managed to make this one using a different concept entirely, with some different concertos and unexpected angles you’ll hear once the recording is released.”

You’ve mentioned Café Zimmermann before—how much does historical performance practice influence your choices in a project like this?
“Bach often performed his instrumental works, as well as some secular cantatas, in Café Zimmermann in Leipzig. Even though we don’t have the original house still standing today, it is easy to surmise that there wouldn’t have been space for more than a one-per-part approach for performances which Bach directed in this venue—meaning only one player per part, making it into a chamber experience, rather than an orchestral one.

"Previous AAM recordings of these concertos, released in 1982 and 1997 respectively, used a greater number of players, so it made sense to me to use a fresh approach, with ties to the performances given by Bach and his students in Café Zimmermann.

"I couldn’t resist adding some previously unrecorded repertoire by the AAM, such as the aforementioned Concerto in D minor, as well as a rather surprising opening of this album. Watch this space…!”