Halfway through the complete Bach unaccompanied sonatas and partitas by Julia Fischer. So far I have heard first and second sonatas, plus the first partita. I must admit to some disappointment, and listening is heavy-going -- partly because anything marked "adagio" or "andante" is taken very slowly indeed; the marvellous andante of the second sonata seems to go on for ever, as do the first movements of both sonatas. The violin playing is, of course, breathtaking. But as previous violinists such as Johanna Martzy and Alfredo Campoli have shown, beautiful playing and beautiful tone are simply not enough. The music needs to come alive, dances need to be rhythmic, the music should never be allowed to drag (the first partita goes on and on even longer than usual). When listening to Fischer, I pine for the versions of Kavakos, of Milstein, of Mullova -- or even the underestimated Lara St John.