It might seem odd for Bach's solo violin music to be transcribed for mandolin. But it's an instrument that Beethoven, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Boulez and Ligeti have all written for, and there are concertos by Hasse, Johann Hoffmann, Hummel and Vivaldi. It might seem even odder for Chris Thile of Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers fame to cross the fence to the classical side for Bach's First and Second Sonatas and First Partita for solo violin. But Thile is a truly formidable player, a sort of Heifetz of the mandolin, only even more streamlined. That streamlining, however, eliminates the friction of technical barriers and creates a Bach without barriers effect, which doesn't always leave room for the degree of shaping that performers more experienced in this repertoire can provide. url.ie/b4lt