Reddit reviews Bach: Cello Suites
We found 3 Reddit comments about Bach: Cello Suites. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Reddit reviews Bach: Cello SuitesWe found 3 Reddit comments about Bach: Cello Suites. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Mstislav Rostropovich is the man you need. He was an absolute master of the cello and could do impossible things with the instrument. Here are a few of my favorite of his CDs:
Mischa Maisky is another very skilled cellist whose recordings tend to be rather consistent. Most of what he recorded with Martha Argerich is wonderful. This is one of his strongest CDs; here's an excerpt.
Pablo Casals is also fantastic, though I'm less familiar with his discography. His version of Bach's cello suites is fantastic, though: Amazon link
I'd also recommend looking into Yo Yo Ma, Jaqueline DuPre, Janos Starker, and Pierre Fournier's discographies, though I can't think of any particular albums off the top of my head to recommend.
JS Bach wrote 6 solo suites for cello for cello. Suite is just a fancy word for a group of peices, often in the style of popular dances of the day, that are considered a gropu of music. Consider a suite something like an anthology of short stories- enjoyable individually, but when viewed as a whole, epic themes and ideas emerge.
The prelude to the g major suite is probably the most famous bit from the suites, but don't over look the rest of the G major suite, or the other suites. They are as strong as each other.
I adore the bach cello suites, I feel that all the ideas of western music are distilled into these 6 suites.
When listening to a recording of the Bach cello suites which performance you choose is going to have massive impact on what you hear and what you take away from the suites.
For a more traditional interpretation of the suites, you can not go past Pablo Casals while for a more modern interpretation have a listen to rostropovich
These two sound like they are playing different music completely, even though they are reading the same black dots on the page.
Happy listening.
Two books I would suggest are
The Bach cello suites. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhcjeZ3o5us
Sheet music. [2] http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Suites-1007-1012-Starker/dp/B004610HD4/ There are many out there (some cheaper than this) But this is the copy that I have. I like the fingerings and the bowings.
CD [3] http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Suites-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B0000CG8EF/ I like Pablo Casals’ recording (of the several I own) because he takes the pieces faster. Yo-Yo Ma and Jacqueline Mary du Pré have good recordings as well.
This has already been mentioned many times on this thread because it’s truly a classic. If he doesn’t have a collection of all 6 then this is a good choice. The first suite is the most commonly heard. It might be a bit hard in the beginning but it’s a collection of pieces he can really grow with. I got a book of the six suites when I was nine and I still play them. I remember the prelude of the 2nd suite got me into the Phoenix Youth Symphony.
Every Body’s Favorite Cello Solos. Sheet music. [4] http://www.thejuilliardstore.com/browse.cfm/cello-solos-(everybodys-favorite-series-volume-40)/4,31636.html Sorry not an Amazon link, those guys only had a used version for $75 (wtf). Either way the link includes a list of the songs that come in the collection. You also get a piano accompaniment, but no worries the piano part has no melody, only supporting harmony. He should find some of the songs easier and other songs will be too overwhelming. Looking through my copy, it ranges from around year 1 to year 3 music. Another book that should last over the years.
Man this is hard. Cello music for the first few years is the hardest to find. There are a lot of different series intended to teach like Suzuki with the “Suzuki method” and the Essential Elements series. I played a few of each of those books and they weren’t bad, but I never really liked them. I had and loved a printed version of the e-book for “Music Book 1 - Cello Part A (melody)” [5] http://www.celloonline.com/cellomusicbooks.htm but can’t find a printed version now. It might not be a bad idea to take him to a music store and have him look around to find something his level (maybe on the day of the anniversary ) I wish I could be of more help, tell me how it goes.