Pablo Casals Cello Bach

A fitting tribute to Mischa Maisky, who celebrates his 60th birthday on 10 January 2008, and also the 25th anniversary of recording with Deutsche Grammophon - not to mention his 30-year partnership with Martha Argerich.

Jean Lauxerois begins his notes to Marc Coppey’s recording of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites by enumerating the many reasons why yet another version of these familiar works “to swell the ever-growing ranks” is superfluous, then explains Coppey’s decision to ignore the arguments as “obedience to a deeper logic, a feeling of necessity”. Lauxerois offers many examples of this “deeper logic”–such as that the Suites somehow correspond to the six days of creation (and on the seventh day God rested…), or that the Suites somehow possess an internal universal code summarizing Leibnitz’s best-of-all-possible-worlds theorem. While it’s impossible to know exactly how obedient Coppey has been to this “deeper logic”, thankfully he delivers an expertly performed set that on purely musical terms renders such rhetorical tripe irrelevant.

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is one of the most important recordings of the 20th century, both for its content (considered by many the greatest cello music of all time) and for the intense devotion, careful preparation, and towering technical skill that went into the project. It was a brilliant idea to make a video as well as an audio recording. Cellists will welcome the chance to study Rostropovich's bowing and fingering techniques, close up and at leisure. And music-lovers will welcome the visuals of the recording location, a French church whose architecture, statues, and flickering candles complement the music.
Mstislav Rostropovich knew, loved and practiced the Bach suites from his teen years, when the legendary Pablo Casals gave him a private performance of one of them. But he did not feel ready to record the complete set until he was 63 years old. Then he found an ideal location for the recording; he carefully chose his recording technicians, and he supervised the sessions besides playing the cello as only he can. Each note is carefully considered and given its unique shape. The music's structures are made clear, its emotional overtones powerfully conveyed. The conventional structure of a baroque suite–an elaborate overture followed by a series of dances–comes vigorously to life. And Rostropovich gives a spoken introduction to each suite (in Russian, with English subtitles) playing illustrative passages on the piano or organ.

The result may appeal mostly to specialized tastes (unaccompanied cello is not everyone's cup of tea), but this video is a landmark.

–Joe McLellan