Bach's Cello Suites were largely forgotten for nearly 200 years until the great Catalan cellist Pablo Casals began performing them publicly around the turn of the 20th century.
Composer Biography
Beethoven's encroaching deafness forced him to retire from the concert stage, but his creative imagination seemed unaffected, pushing him to compose works like the 'Eroica' Symphony and 'Appassionata' Sonata.
Composer Biography
Robert Schumann's 'Widmung' (Dedication) is the opening song of his Myrthen, Op. 25 collection, which he presented to his new bride Clara on their wedding day in 1840.
Composition History
The original manuscript for Bach's Cello Suites has been lost, making much of their history, including the exact date of composition and intended instrument, a matter of supposition.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven considered Bach the 'Urvater der Harmonie' (original father of harmony) and, like Bach, focused on the cello's expressive potential rather than easy-to-play phrases.
Composer Biography
Franz Schubert achieved all his musical accomplishments, including over 600 song settings, in a lifetime that spanned only 31 years.
Instruments
The modern cello can play the first four Bach Cello Suites without adjustment, but the Fifth requires retuning a string, and the Sixth requires a fifth string to be played as written.
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