... Mr. Cotik very much takes this to heart in his playing, performing the contrapuntal movements with absolute concentration on the polyphony, and contrasting this with the sense of abandon he gives to the fantasia movements. I marvel at the technical skill which effortlessly encompasses these deeply contrasting styles....a technical as well as expressive master stroke. Tomas’ interpretation of these naked works is wistful yet swinging, danceable yet thoughtful. He brings much of the ‘apotheosis of the dance’ quality to them that he brought to the Allegro Assai movement of the Bach...On to Piazzolla.... Cotik brings a technique to these pieces that is similar, yet distinctly different from those earlier essays. ...What is most touching about Cotik’s playing here is the occasional subtle stuttering of the bow—not a spiccato, sautille, or jete–at the end of a phrase, as if the emotion momentarily (and deliberately) overwhelms the technique....Good to see Cotik conclude his survey with these works, as they show how dance–and dance polyphony–have evolved through Telemann, Bach, Schubert, and Piazzolla. The homophony of dance, and the polyphony of the fugue and related contrapuntal forms have mixed well in the works of composers great and small, and works like the Piazzolla ensure that such composition will carry on into the future. Gregory Hall READ MORE