J.S. Bach: The French Suites, BWV 812-817

It is with children in mind that I recorded these French Suites, always having heartfelt simplicity and purity in their mind. Children see the world with hope, optimism, and cast in light much like Miró sees the world. I find a childlike purity in him, similar to what I hear in the French Suites. There is a quote by Miró that touches me enormously and makes me think a lot whenever I play, as it reflects something that may be the most difficult aspect of musical interpretation and of art in general: To gain freedom is to gain simplicity.'' (Zhu Xiao-Mei) Zhu Xiao-Mei was born in 1949 in Shanghai. She began performing early, playing on Beijing radio and television when she was only 8. When she was ten she entered the National School of Music for exceptionally gifted children. She came to America in 1979, attending the New England Conservatory in Boston. Currently, she teaches at the Conservatoire de Paris.