Every so often a new recording arrives carrying more than music. It carries a life, a lineage, a whole chain of hands passing something precious down the generations. That is exactly what I feel listening to the news around Minsoo Sohn's first album for Hyperion, released on 2 October 2026: Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I. As a pianist who returns to these preludes and fugues almost daily, I wanted to share why this particular release has stayed with me.
A debut that was decades in the making
Sohn is hardly a newcomer. After winning the Honens International Piano Competition in 2006, he performed across Europe, North America and Asia, drawing particular praise for his Bach and Beethoven. His 2011 Goldberg Variations and a complete Beethoven sonata cycle had already established him. Many listeners, though, now know him through one of his students: he has guided a generation of musicians, including Yunchan Lim.
What makes this Hyperion signing notable is the company's intent. Hyperion welcomes Sohn with the first in a new series devoted to landmarks of the piano repertoire, which positions this Bach as a cornerstone rather than a one-off.
The heart of the story: Russell Sherman's scores
Here is the detail that moved me most. The album is a deeply personal tribute to Sohn's teacher, the American pianist Russell Sherman, who regarded the work as one of the highest expressions of the human spirit. Sherman considered the Well-Tempered Clavier one of the highest expressions of the human spirit but never recorded it himself.
After Sherman died in 2023, the baton passed quietly but unmistakably. Sohn received Sherman's annotated scores from his widow, fellow pianist Wha Kyung Byun, and studying those scores became the foundation for this recording journey. As a teacher myself, I find that almost unbearably touching: the markings of one lifetime becoming the map for another.
Resilience written into the playing
There is a second, quieter thread here too. A serious wrist injury in 2008 interrupted Sohn's career for years and forced him to rebuild his technique from the ground up. Anyone who has lived through physical trouble at the keyboard will recognise what that costs, and how it can change not only how you play but why you play. Hyperion's A&R director Dominic Fyfe framed the album as an interpretation of rare depth and joy, recorded in the setting of Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps.
On record and on stage at the same time
This is not a studio artefact tucked away on a shelf. The release coincides with a major international recital tour taking Book I to Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States, including a recital at Carnegie Hall.
An early stop drew warm words. Reviewing his Vancouver Playhouse recital on 27 September 2026, one critic described beautifully clean and strong articulation of the counterpoint and a discerning ease and flow that created a sense of organic unity. The same writer noted the sound could be big-boned, almost Brahmsian in weight at times, yet relatively linear in exposition. That is a fascinating approach to Bach, closer to grand architecture than to harpsichord filigree, and it tells you a lot about where Sohn stands.
Why Bach, why now
I keep coming back to how Sohn explains his choice. He has said that in an increasingly noisy and distracting world, Bach's music leads us to slow down and reconnect with something deeper. That is precisely the feeling I chase when I sit down with these pieces before a concert. The Well-Tempered Clavier is a daily discipline and a daily consolation.
If this album sends you back to Bach, I would love to share that journey with you. I weave preludes and fugues into my own recitals and chamber programmes, and there is no better music for listening closely together. You can explore upcoming concerts or enquire about booking a performance at yinghopiano.com.
