Nonesuch Records releases an album of three Bach works recorded by mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile on August 6, 2013. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, produced by Edgar Meyer, 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. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the G minor sonata Fuga: Allegro; the first 500 pre-orders include an autographed print. “This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin," says Thile. "It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."
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Nonesuch Records releases an album of three Bach works recorded by mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on August 6, 2013. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 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. Thile will perform works by Bach in solo recitals this fall; see below for details. The album—which was produced by Thile’s friend, mentor, and frequent collaborator, the double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer—is available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store and punchbrothers.com. Pre-orders come with an instant download of Fuga: Allegro from Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001 (which you can preview below) and an exclusive print of the album art by Oliver Jeffers, the first 500 of which will be signed by Thile.
Thile explains his connection to the composer: “Bach was my first meaningful experience with—for lack of a better word—classical music. It was the second recording of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations. Gould plays with the kind of rhythmic integrity that I had previously only associated with non-classical music: music with a groove, with a pocket, that made you move. Gould was playing that music like my heroes play fiddle tunes. It humanized the whole thing for me and the heavens opened up and Bach came down. I started devouring all the Bach I could get my hands on.”
He continues, “This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."
Chris Thile, whom London’s Independent calls “the most remarkable mandolinist in the world,” is the founding member and lead vocalist of Punch Brothers. With broad influences including progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic. Thile will be touring this summer with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer, with whom he released last year’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won two Grammys in 2013. See below for tour dates; for additional details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
As a soloist, Thile has released five previous albums. In 2011, Nonesuch Records released the Grammy–nominated Sleep with One Eye Open, an album of duets with guitarist Michael Daves. Thile has also collaborated with a pantheon of musical innovators from multiple genres including Béla Fleck, Brad Mehldau, and Hilary Hahn. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with which he released three albums, sold two million records, and was awarded a Grammy.
The New Yorker’s Alec Wilkinson said of Punch Brothers: “each musician has a deep command of his instrument … their technique and specific sensibilities have given Punch Brothers a sound that is strikingly coherent and singular, even if they haven’t yet settled on a genre … Each of the musicians … plays with grace, thoughtfulness, and force to a degree that is not duplicated by any band I am aware of.” Their latest album, the critically acclaimed Who’s Feeling Young Now?, was released in 2012 on Nonesuch Records.
Nonesuch Releases Chris Thile’s "Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1" on August 6
Nonesuch Records releases an album of three Bach works recorded by mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on August 6, 2013. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 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. Thile will perform works by Bach in solo recitals this fall; see below for details. The album—which was produced by Thile’s friend, mentor, and frequent collaborator, the double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer—is available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store and punchbrothers.com. Pre-orders come with an instant download of Fuga: Allegro from Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001 (which you can preview below) and an exclusive print of the album art by Oliver Jeffers, the first 500 of which will be signed by Thile.
Thile explains his connection to the composer: “Bach was my first meaningful experience with—for lack of a better word—classical music. It was the second recording of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations. Gould plays with the kind of rhythmic integrity that I had previously only associated with non-classical music: music with a groove, with a pocket, that made you move. Gould was playing that music like my heroes play fiddle tunes. It humanized the whole thing for me and the heavens opened up and Bach came down. I started devouring all the Bach I could get my hands on.”
He continues, “This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."
Chris Thile, whom London’s Independent calls “the most remarkable mandolinist in the world,” is the founding member and lead vocalist of Punch Brothers. With broad influences including progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic. Thile will be touring this summer with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer, with whom he released last year’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won two Grammys in 2013. See below for tour dates; for additional details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
As a soloist, Thile has released five previous albums. In 2011, Nonesuch Records released the Grammy–nominated Sleep with One Eye Open, an album of duets with guitarist Michael Daves. Thile has also collaborated with a pantheon of musical innovators from multiple genres including Béla Fleck, Brad Mehldau, and Hilary Hahn. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with which he released three albums, sold two million records, and was awarded a Grammy.
The New Yorker’s Alec Wilkinson said of Punch Brothers: “each musician has a deep command of his instrument … their technique and specific sensibilities have given Punch Brothers a sound that is strikingly coherent and singular, even if they haven’t yet settled on a genre … Each of the musicians … plays with grace, thoughtfulness, and force to a degree that is not duplicated by any band I am aware of.” Their latest album, the critically acclaimed Who’s Feeling Young Now?, was released in 2012 on Nonesuch Records.
Nonesuch Releases Chris Thile’s "Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1" on August 6
Nonesuch Records releases an album of three Bach works recorded by mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on August 6, 2013. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 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. Thile will perform works by Bach in solo recitals this fall; see below for details. The album—which was produced by Thile’s friend, mentor, and frequent collaborator, the double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer—is available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store and punchbrothers.com. Pre-orders come with an instant download of Fuga: Allegro from Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001 (which you can preview below) and an exclusive print of the album art by Oliver Jeffers, the first 500 of which will be signed by Thile.
Thile explains his connection to the composer: “Bach was my first meaningful experience with—for lack of a better word—classical music. It was the second recording of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations. Gould plays with the kind of rhythmic integrity that I had previously only associated with non-classical music: music with a groove, with a pocket, that made you move. Gould was playing that music like my heroes play fiddle tunes. It humanized the whole thing for me and the heavens opened up and Bach came down. I started devouring all the Bach I could get my hands on.”
He continues, “This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."
Chris Thile, whom London’s Independent calls “the most remarkable mandolinist in the world,” is the founding member and lead vocalist of Punch Brothers. With broad influences including progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic. Thile will be touring this summer with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer, with whom he released last year’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won two Grammys in 2013. See below for tour dates; for additional details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
As a soloist, Thile has released five previous albums. In 2011, Nonesuch Records released the Grammy–nominated Sleep with One Eye Open, an album of duets with guitarist Michael Daves. Thile has also collaborated with a pantheon of musical innovators from multiple genres including Béla Fleck, Brad Mehldau, and Hilary Hahn. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with which he released three albums, sold two million records, and was awarded a Grammy.
The New Yorker’s Alec Wilkinson said of Punch Brothers: “each musician has a deep command of his instrument … their technique and specific sensibilities have given Punch Brothers a sound that is strikingly coherent and singular, even if they haven’t yet settled on a genre … Each of the musicians … plays with grace, thoughtfulness, and force to a degree that is not duplicated by any band I am aware of.” Their latest album, the critically acclaimed Who’s Feeling Young Now?, was released in 2012 on Nonesuch Records.
Guitarist/bandleader Jeff Parker and his long-running ETA IVtet's Happy Today, recorded live at Lodge Room in Los Angeles on August 20, 2025, is out now. It's the sound of Parker and the rest of the IVtet—drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss, and saxophonist Josh Johnson—adapting their form-bending, minimalist, improvisatory approach to a larger space than their previous home-base, the now-shuttered micro-club ETA, without sacrificing their hypnotic power. The album comprises two sprawling, LP side–length improvisatory pieces, recorded and mixed live by engineer Bryce Gonzales on a custom-made tape rig, capturing a moment of brightness in dark times.
Laurie Anderson with Sexmob's Let X=X is out now. This triple-LP / double-CD set was recorded live during a 2023 tour by Anderson and the jazz band Sexmob—Steven Bernstein on brass, Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion, Douglas Wieselman on winds and guitar, Briggan Krauss on saxophone and guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. The album features 23 songs, including many favorites from throughout Anderson’s career, performed in new arrangements—plus one by Lou Reed and Metallica, “Junior Dad.” Their performance of "O Superman," from Anderson’s landmark 1982 album, Big Science, at the Ravenna Festival in 2023, can be seen here. Anderson and Sexmob play more US and international dates this spring and summer.
