Bach - Solo Cello Suites -
Though they were long misunderstood as mere technical hurdles, Bach's Six Suites for
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unaccompanied cello are among those rare works of music that offer inexhaustible rewards for performer and listener alike. Yo-Yo Ma gave a pathbreaking account of the Suites back in the 1980s, but returns to them here impelled by a unique and interdisciplinary approach. For this project, Ma engaged the talents of artists in different fields--ranging from a landscape artist to a Kabuki actor and figure skaters--to produce six short films as a visual correlative for the highly distinctive character of each Suite. While the success of the films in illuminating Bach's creativity is decidedly uneven, Ma brings the music itself to life with a searing, quasi-vocal eloquence. His interpretations are probing, characterised by imaginative bowing and attention to the spacious architecture of Bach's score. This is especially clear in Ma's preference for broad, expansive tempos and patient spinning of filigreed detail. True, the generally Romantic cast of his conception can seem overdone and exaggerated in statement, as if Ma is more intent on overlaying his own personality on the discipline of the music. But the prayerful, meditative concentration he brings to the Sarabandes--listen to the single-lined, anguished tone painting in Suite 5--is utterly convincing. There is a sense of profound introspection here, while in the Sarabande of Suite 6 Ma's phrasing suggests we are in the same spiritual terrain as Beethoven's late quartets. Yet there is no lack of blistering energy and extroverted high spirits in some of the more overtly dance-oriented movements. While purists may complain of distortion in these accounts, Ma once again proves he has something vital to say with this music. --Thomas May
Advantages: to add great music in to your collection Disadvantages: None
...Steven Isserlis is an outstanding cellist. When you listen his playing alive, which I did, you can see how he captures you with his playing. I am a professional viola player for twenty years. I have listened many recordings of Bachcellosuites from Rostropovich to Peter Bruns. Isserlis plays the suits in a way that you can find something different in his interpretation. Specially the 6th suit. That suit is very difficult to play actually. You should listen and hear it yourself how it flows. I have to also add the price is actually not that expensive. Because you are going to have the six suits which are usually come in two cds and plus interesting piece again by Bach , Cant del Ocells, ( Song of the Birds'). I highly recommend the cd who are interested in solo cello music, Bach or classical music....
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Advantages: Highly burnished, engaging, musically intelligent and emotionally mature playing; beautiful tone is never saccharine. Disadvantages: Nil.
...and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, does justice to all the Elgar pieces here. I can reassure devotees of the du Pré recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto that Ms Clein's vibrant reading will not disappoint at all, and warmly recommend it as a welcome addition to their library.
Although this isn't Ms Clein's first CD release, it might be her most impressive, if only for the unqualified success she's gained with the Cello Concerto. While I expect to explore more of her CDs, labels like 'The Romantic Cello' do not exactly entice this listener to rush out to snap up a copy.
Right now, I'm hoping really hard that a recording of J. S. Bach's cello sonatas is in the offing. As for the album under present review, it's one that will please all comers. That's five glowing stars for a job well done.
Extra: See a music video...
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Advantages: Adventurous fusion of styles Disadvantages: The old dull track or two
...Love". This segues into one of the most forceful rockers ELO ever recorded in their entire career, the Top 30 hit "Ma a Ma Belle". If you don't remember it, imagine the Stones' "Brown Sugar" with sawing cellos instead of sax reinforcing the slashing guitar chords, and suitably Jaggeresque lyrics to match.
The album ends with a number often used as the stage encore, a splendidly over-the-top rearrangement of the finale from Grieg's "Hall of The Mountain King". It does seem a little naive, though, to see the composer credited on the record as 'Trad - arr. ELO'. As Jeremy Paxman might have said, "Oh, come on!"
I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who likes the idea of a bit of classics and rock fusion. If you only discovered ELO through their more commercial later work when they became 'Top Of The Pops' regulars, this is a very good...
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helpful 23.08.2000
(21.07.2001)
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