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Bach: Suites for unaccompanied cello

Joe P

Joe P

Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
One for the Baroque buffs... would someone please recommend a good performance of Bach's complete cello suites? I was tempted to buy the Janos Starker reissued LP set on Mercury, but after seeing the price I may opt for a CD (re)issue. (Besides price of the records themselves, the other issue with the Starker LPs is that they would have to be imported from the States from Acoustic Sounds, so I could get hit with customs duty, too, making the albums very expensive.)

Know of any decent versions by Starker or others on CD for reasonable money?

Thanks,
Joe
 
I have the Vukomended Anner Bylsma version and it's ace. Will be easy to find and probably at a budget price as well.

Matthew
 
Given that I am also interested, is this what you are looking for?
 
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I've got the Starker version on SACD. Got it off ebay.de for about a tenner. Its superb, and I've since put the Heinrich Schiff recording that served before onto the recycle shelf (which means someone will be getting it for Xmas or birthday).

I thought the LP version was available in UK?
 
alanbeeb said:
I've got the Starker version on SACD. Got it off ebay.de for about a tenner. Its superb, and I've since put the Heinrich Schiff recording that served before onto the recycle shelf (which means someone will be getting it for Xmas or birthday).

I thought the LP version was available in UK?
Click to expand...

I bought mine from Vivante last year, but they don't seem to stock it any more.
 
Personally I'm a big fan of the Rostropovich version (on EMI), which, quite rightly, in my view, holds a penguin guide rosette; the only reservation might be on price - it isn't a cheap set - though I did recently spy it on sale in hmv so.... That said, I do know that some people are put off by his style.

Schiff is also fine and Ma is technically highly competent but lacking something by way of emotion.

regards, Tam
 
Starker is great, a little fast sometimes maybe. The SACD is really good. You can buy any of those reissues with confidence
 
I recently got the Starker from Vivante, they still sell it but try the search engine a few times in some different ways - it's a bit tempremental, almost as if they have forgotten to file it under bach. I have the Rostropovich on CD which was my no.1 but is now no.2. (Also Ma, Cassals on CD.)

The mercury re-release is on Speakers Corner - a German company - Markus Sauer suggested that they were cheaper in Germany than the UK - might be worth a net search or being nice to a German friend?

Not tried this on the ESL57s yet - tonight!

Jonathan
 
Fournier's and Tortelier's versions are the classic performances to go for. I have the Fournier on CD and the Tortelier on remarkably clean and silent vinyl, and there is little to choose between them.

I have a Hungaroton LP of Starker playing suites 3 & 6, and I really couldn't recommend those performances.

Wispelwey played the suites at the Wigmore Hall last year, which Radio 3 broadcast live - it was a good performance, but probably too aggressive in attack on the strings. Rather like Beethoven's late quartets, a successful performance in this music somehow finds the right balance between rough and smooth, raw and cooked, honey and ashes.
 
The Starker re-released recently is the the Mercury one, that one is very good. Tortelier is alright, I always found him a tad boring. Fournier I've heard and he can be awesome, when I was learning the pieces I often listened to him, if only to disagree with what he did. The daddy of all performers is Casals, but I don't know if there's a 'hi-fi' recording of him doing them.
My least favourite is the Yo Yo Ma version. It's very beautiful, but somehow totally lacking in passion and soul. You can buy the Starker for £15 on SACD at that price it's a bit of a no brainer
 
Not heard Mercury SACDs but the 90s re-issues on CD were done with much care (as you would expect from Mercury) and sound great.

Cheers,

Nic.
 
"The daddy of all performers is Casals, but I don't know if there's a 'hi-fi' recording of him doing them."

I have an EMI box (LP) of Casals recorded from 1936 to 1939 and they're superb, no hiss (at sensible volume). I also think the mono recording suits the suites a lot better than many of the stereo recordings I've heard, particularly Nikolaus Harnoncourt's reading, where the engineer has "spread" the sound so at times it seems there are two cellists playing, not good.

The Casals Box No. is RLS 712 and OC147 00892-4M

Totally agree with regard to Yo Yo Ma, on the recording I heard he added far too many "frills & trills" which I thought totally out of place.

I have the 3rd and 6th suite by Starker, recorded in ’63, is that SACD taken from the same recordings?
 
There is a Casals on Naxos Historical from the 30's - with the different suites recorded on various different dates in London and Paris from '36 to '39 - plus a few other bits. He was 60-63 years old then and I guess any newer recordings would be of a man not at the height of his powers.

These recordings has been restored and sound not bad for the time - but still compressed and noisy compared to anything modern.

I'm no expert - but the speed, tone, vibrato seems to be like no other I've heard - and varied throughout. It's almost like he's just mucking about to see what would sound best.

On the whole I'm enough of a hi-fi nerd to avoid "historical" recordings - but the reasonable prices Naxos charge and the Casals reputation it's OK. But on the whole I'm shallow enough to listen mostly to nicely recorded things.
 
"But on the whole I'm shallow enough to listen mostly to nicely recorded things."

From my days in a record shop, I swear several of the regulars were trying to out-do each other as to who could find the noisiest historical CD!
 
It is worth noting that (I believe) at the time of the Casals recordings, these works were not part of the 'mainstream' repertoire; indeed, it was in large part his recording and championing of them that has led to their current prominence. It is, therefore, unsurprising that they sound the way you describe them

For what it's worth, I think passing over good performances because of recording quality is a little foolish and going to miss you out on some outstanding work. Even a poor recording should sound good on a decent system (despite noise et al).

regards, Tam
 
Basil said:
From my days in a record shop, I swear several of the regulars were trying to out-do each other as to who could find the noisiest historical CD!
Click to expand...

There's a Boult recording of Schubert's 9th dating from around 1933 that would take some beating in this regard (also Furtwangler's 2nd and 8th on the EMI set of his Beethoven symphonies).

regards, Tam
 
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