J.s. Bach Cello Suites Mstislav

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–1723, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title given on the cover of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for cello solo without bass).

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–1723, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title given on the cover of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for cello solo without bass).

Every cellist of renown eventually faces up to the Everest of their repertoire, the solo Cello Suites of J.S. Bach. For Giovanni Sollima, this has been a work of many years in the making, as he explains in a booklet introduction.

Nobody knows why Johann Sebastian Bach composed his six suites for solo cello. Nor does anybody know how it came about that the suites were soon afterwards consigned to oblivion and more than a century before a 13-year-old Spanish musical prodigy discovered a worn copy of the score in a second-hand bookstore store in Bar- celona. For the next 11 years Pablo Casals practiced them every day. Finally, in 1936, he entered London’s Abbey Road studios to record the second and third suites for the first time. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Bach’s cello suites have become a rite of passage for all aspiring cellists.

J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites are believed to have been written in the Saxon town of Cöthen between 1717 and 1723. They stand near the apex of Bach’s compositions for a single instrument and contain some of his most beautiful and vivid writing.

Nobody knows why Johann Sebastian Bach composed his six suites for solo cello. Nor does anybody know how it came about that the suites were soon afterwards consigned to oblivion and more than a century before a 13-year-old Spanish musical prodigy discovered a worn copy of the score in a second-hand bookstore store in Bar- celona. For the next 11 years Pablo Casals practiced them every day. Finally, in 1936, he entered London’s Abbey Road studios to record the second and third suites for the first time. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Bach’s cello suites have become a rite of passage for all aspiring cellists.

„Magie faszinierender Cellokünste“, „kontemplative Tiefe“, „Vorschein erfüllter ästhetischer Utopie“,
schrieb die „Süddeutsche Zeitung“ über das Cellospiel von David Stromberg.

J.S. Bach completed his six suites for solo cello in 1723. Since then, these works have become pillars of the repertoire, influencing many of the 20th century’s works for the instrument. This recording project is a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the completion of the suites and of their far reaching impact on composers of our time. In addition to recording all of the suites, Erica Wise has commissioned six short works for solo cello, each inspired by Bach and his work.

Italian cellist Massimiliano Martinelli is one of the most talented musicians on the international scene today. His album “Bach – Complete Cello Suites”, published under the Halidonmusic label, quickly surpassed 4 million views on YouTube after its initial release – making it one of the most popular recordings of the Bach Suites for Solo Cello on the platform.

The pianist Thomas Jarry here borrows the famous Cello Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach in an innovative reading at the piano. Harmony and counterpoint, reconstructed on a solid historical and musicological foundation, offer the listener the possibility of experiencing these legendary works in a new three-dimensional version. Dare to re-discover the complete Cello Suites, recorded on an exceptional Gaveau concert piano dating from 1953.