It is not just that these Baroque music performances by are played on a modern piano, with a style distinctive to the instrument and no attempt to suggest the sound of a harpsichord. goes further than that. The most unusual feature of is that the program -- consisting of short single pieces -- mostly between one and three minutes long, and some of them excerpted from larger works. The first part (the first CD in the physical version) consists of Baroque keyboard pieces, while the second part offers 's own arrangements of pieces for other instrumental media, together with improvisations on some familiar melodies. 's main criterion for inclusion seems to be his own preferences, and indeed, he has some unusual items by such composers as , , and . None of this would make the slightest bit of sense to a Baroque audience, nor really to a contemporary audience trying to understand the music's place in the culture of its time. However, this is not to say it is not listenable, and it even makes a certain degree of sense. With the composers boiled down to essentials like this, one hears the grandeur of , the spirituality of , and the theatricality of in a new way. The WDR studio sound is intimate and emphasizes the personal quality of 's playing. "Personal" isn't a word often associated with the Baroque, but maybe there is something to be said for hearing Baroque music done this way. ~ James Manheim