One of my main goals as a musician is to become fluent in a variety of historical musical languages. Bach himself belonged to a musical context in which composing, performing and improvising were inseparable activities. In the search to become as close as possible to a fluent speaker of his musical language, I have been trying to nurture not only my performing skills in his music, but also the compositional and improvisatory skills that formed part of the daily practice of musicians in Bach's time.

Improvisation has therefore always been an essential part of my artistic practice, whether in the practice room or in front of an audience in concert. For many years, I have been introducing improvised elements into my Bach recitals, either through ornamentation or by adding small interludes and preludes. This album is a natural continuation of that journey.

Ultimately, this recording is an invitation to hear Bach's music as a living musical language. The very act of recording improvised music reinforces the idea of making music in the present moment: these performances are a snapshot of a living musical process and capture the musical ideas that emerged on the days of the recording, knowing that they would naturally be different every time I embark on the same journey.

I aspire to approach Bach's written compositions in the same way. As long as the essential elements of his music—its harmonic structure, groove and contrapuntal thinking—remain intact and provide the underlying framework, we can enter a state of flow in which melodic realization, ornamentation, articulation and gesture are free to evolve from one performance to the next, while remaining faithful to the musical language. I hope this recording encourages listeners to hear these pieces with fresh ears. For me, this journey has been—and continues to be—the most fulfilling artistic process I can imagine.