Cello Digital

From Elgar and Brahms to Schumann and Dvořák, the digital collection Joy of the Cello offers a wide panorama of Jacqueline du Pré’s artistry.

The great progress of civilisation in the first half of the 19th century undoubtedly had a colossal impact on the mentality of the society of that time. The enormous possibilities opened up by the invention of steam engines allowed people to look into the future of human development with great optimism. It can be assumed that for the people of that era, the present and the future were more important than looking back. But at the same time, the development of archaeology, extensive research into the origin of species and humans, and the emerging interest in the art of ancient times also resulted in a fascination with the works of composers from bygone eras.

A seminal moment in the birth of the cello as a solo instrument: historically informed performances of lively and athletic Baroque trio sonatas.

The fruit of a long-standing collaboration between Jean-Guihen Queyras and choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker (whose acclaimed production Mitten wir im Leben sind has had over 100 performances worldwide and was filmed in 4K for the enclosed Blu-ray disc), this new recording of Bach’s Cello Suites arrives 17 years after his first reading that quickly set the standard. Profoundly influenced by his close connection to dance, the cellist has drawn fresh inspiration from the source. Today, he is ready to offer his latest look at the iconic cycle.

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.

In InfInIte Bach, the avant-garde cellist Maya Beiser elevates our sensory perception of the solo cello Suites of J. S. Bach in the expanded realm of spatial audio. Anchoring her body and instrument in the studio space, she reimagines this seminal Baroque work in a visceral experience that is both immersive and transcendental. The multilayered sounds of her cello emerge as ethereal and illuminated, like ambient lights and shadows tempering the overwhelming force of tradition.

There is an Icelandic saying, “mergur málsins”, which directly translates to “the marrow of the matter,” and these Suites, to me, speak directly to the essence of being human. As for many cellists, these Suites have been my steady companion throughout my life with the cello, first as a vehicle to learn counterpoint, style, and harmony, then as material with which to explore personal expression and interpretation, and today they are a mirror, reflecting the deeper truth of the human experience, revealing more layers of meaning each time I come back to them.

Seit Pablo Casals um 1900 Bachs Suiten für Violoncello solo aus einem über 150-jährigen Dornröschenschlaf erweckte, haben sie nicht nur Interpreten und Publikum, sondern auch Komponisten gleichermaßen fasziniert und inspiriert.

The great progress of civilisation in the first half of the 19th century undoubtedly had a colossal impact on the mentality of the society of that time. The enormous possibilities opened up by the invention of steam engines allowed people to look into the future of human development with great optimism. It can be assumed that for the people of that era, the present and the future were more important than looking back. But at the same time, the development of archaeology, extensive research into the origin of species and humans, and the emerging interest in the art of ancient times also resulted in a fascination with the works of composers from bygone eras.

At the age of twenty-five, Michiaki Ueno, winner of the prestigious Geneva International Competition in 2021, has chosen to record the Cello Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach. The young musician gives a masterly interpretation of a work regarded as the ‘Grail’ of every cellist. He already imposes a distinct artistic personality, one to be reckoned with in future.