In Casals’ book Joys and Sorrows, he indicates that he began each day with Bach without fail. The suites were quite unknown until a 13-year-old young boy, Catalan cellist Pablo (Pau) Casals, happened upon a yellowed edition of them in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain - an edition by cellist Friedrich Grützmacher of 24 études fame. At the service, I related the story of the previous week, which was so quintessentially my dad, and then I “played again” the Prelude to the Bach Suite. Although I’ve played for many funerals, and I feel it is a privilege to do so, I never thought I would have the strength to play for the funeral of my own father. Janos Starker Credit: father passed away one week later. Play it again!” I think he liked the second time much better. When I finished the last chord with a flourish my dad suddenly sat bolt upright and said, “Janetke! Why did you slow down there so much? Move the tempo. While I played through the whole movement, I glanced up at him several times, but he seemed to be in a stupor, his arm hanging over the side of his wheelchair, his body listing to the right. I chose to play the prelude to the Bach Suite No. I sat very close to him with just barely enough space to bow. It is very difficult to watch a parent when they begin to slump in their chairs, when they are not fully conscious, when they are not present mentally. Towards the end of his life his physical body deteriorated, but he was mentally acute until very near the end and he still took immense pleasure from music. When I was growing up I heard him practice them often, even though he had mountains of orchestral music to work on. My father was also a professional cellist. Although I’ve performed them many times, there is one occasion that stands out more than any other. Bach Solo Cello Suites are a pinnacle to be reached for any cellist. Yo-Yo Ma won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance for his performance of The six Cello Suites in 1985.CasalsWithout a doubt the six J.S. The cellist's grand interpretation at Prom 68 would have left the composer astonished and incredulous.”- The Guardian One to file in the concerts of a lifetime.”- BBC Music Magazine“ “Without doubt, we were in the presence of a great musician, and a great man. Yo-Yo Ma performed the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites in its entirety - nearly three hours! - in London at The Proms concert to more than 5,000 people. They have since been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists and have been transcribed for numerous other instruments they are considered some of Bach's greatest musical achievements. 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).ĭue to the works' technical demands, étude-like nature, and difficulty in interpretation because of the non-annotated nature of the surviving copies, the cello suites were little known and rarely publicly performed until they were revived and recorded by Pablo Casals in the early 20th century. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717-23, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. They are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach.
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