Julius Berger, the cellist on this album, is known for his extensive collaborations with living composers, commissioning and premiering new works, and his efforts to rediscover and record forgotten literature for his instrument.
Composition History
The album explores the first significant solo cello works written after Johann Sebastian Bach's suites, which appeared almost 200 years later.
Composer Biography
Adolf Busch, a violinist and composer, left Germany due to his strong opposition to the anti-Semitic terror of the Nazis, maintaining close contact with figures like Thomas Mann, Paul Klee, and Albert Einstein.
Composer Biography
Walter Courvoisier, a Swiss composer, initially pursued a career as a medical doctor before following his 'inner voice' to study composition and become a professor at the State Academy of Music in Munich.
Historical Context
In the 19th century, Bach's cello suites were often played with accompaniment, with solo performances considered an 'affront' to the audience, until Pablo Casals popularized them 'senza Basso' in the 20th century.
Composition History
Adolf Busch's first solo cello suite, composed in 1914, predates Max Reger's and Zoltán Kodály's solo works, making it one of the earliest 20th-century solo cello pieces after Bach.
Recording & Production
For this recording, the cellist Julius Berger used gut strings and a tuning of 432 Hz to emulate the sound ideal of around 1915, believing it enhances depth, color, and sonority.
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