Consumer Critique: Simone Dinnerstein - Bach: A Strange Beauty

Simone Dinnerstein gained critical acclaim for her debut album Bach: Goldberg Variations, which did well on the billboard charts. She's returned to playing Bach for her first album with Sony Classical, Bach: A Strange Beauty.

Not only is Simone a very talented piano player, she's also a wife and mother, who balances practice, performing, and parenting. She has this to say about that balancing act: "It is really challenging being away so much, so I try to balance it by being very present when I am at home. I volunteer in my son's classroom and try to get most of my practicing done while he's in school so that we can spend a lot of time together after school. My husband and son and I like going hiking so we'll plan hikes a month ahead when I know I'll be home. Whenever they're on school holidays they will meet me in the city where I am performing so we can be together....In my neighborhood there are lots of older mothers who are very successful in their careers. When we've talked about having children, all of us feel that becoming mothers made us more successful, more focused and efficient in the way we work. You have a lot less time when you are a mother so you need to make the most of your time. In my case, I feel that becoming a mother has really deepened me as a musician and made me a better artist."

As a musician, I really like the choices on this CD. They aren't songs that have a wide appeal already, so they aren't overdone. To people who listen to a lot of classical music or a lot of Bach, several songs will be recognizable, but the casual classical listener will recognize "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" for sure, and that may be the only thing. But it's easy to listen to classical piano - my kids love it to fall asleep to, and I appreciate all the intricacies and technical prowess for people who play Bach well.

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