The Bach Cello Suites
represent the ne plus ultra of
the cello repertoire and few cellists
fail to attempt this Olympian challenge
at some point in their careers. Johann
Sebastian Bach opened a new standard
for the genre writing his Sonatas
and Partitas for Solo Violin. It
was just a few years later that he set
down these magnificent pieces for the
violoncello.
Bach’s aspiration to
mastering all forms and styles had led
him to a universalism as a composer;
it was at Weimar that he raised organ
music to its pinnacle and the church
cantata to previously unheard levels
of art. As Kapellmeister at the Court
of Cöthen, Bach concentrated much
of his time in developing the potentialities
of different forms of instrumental music
for soloists and ensembles. It was in
Cöthen that the Brandenburg
Concertos originated and that the
Inventions and the Well-Tempered
Clavier were composed. Despite the
serialization of his handiwork, Bach
never reiterates the music; each piece
holds its own distinctiveness. Often
in the Cello Suites, we can hear a single
continuous melodic line, yet a three
or four-part harmony can be discerned
within all .If we recognize that the
Solo Partitas for Violin date
from 1720, we know only an approximate
time of composition for the Cello Suites.
The original score was lost and among
the surviving copies is one in the hand
of Anna Magdalena (Bach’s second wife).
It dates from the early 1720s as it
is for the then Braunsweig pupil of
Bach - G.H.L. Schwanenberg. All the
Cello Suites have a parallel plan influencing
the conventional movements Allemande,
Courante, Sarabande and
Gigue. There appear Menuets
in Suites 1 and 2, Bourrées
in No. 3 and 4 and in the last pair
two Gavottes. Each of the six
suites has a Prelude, as in the
English Suites which observe
a similar structure. The sequences generate
a growing degree of intensity not deriving
from the different tonalities and owing
more to their technical difficulties
as much as to their wealth of content.
I only knew Maria Kliegel
through her extensive Naxos catalogue.
Until listening to this recording I
had not heard her playing. I rather
doubt the publicity that claims her
as the most recorded female cellist.
At least two Russian cellists, Marina
Tarasova and Alla Vasilyeva have a vast
discography. There is also Jacqueline
du Pré whose recordings assert
a special place; she however never took
on the mighty challenge of the Bach
masterpieces. Only two suites were set
down by du Pré. Rightly this
German cellist has chosen a suitable
moment in her career to tackle this
pinnacle of the cello repertoire.
Maria Kliegel maintains
a wonderful feeling for these pieces,
as if she has lived with them for a
long while. She allows the music to
develop and breathe, nothing is forced,
no idle playing, everything is well-judged.
Making comparisons with the masters
of this instrument; both Shafran and
Fournier are admirable, the former also
possesses that deep sensitivity for
the instrument. Compare this with Schiff’s
more masculine and deeply-hewn playing
(from his EMI CDs of 1984) which draws
a darker imagery from these almost philosophical
works. Listening to Vasilyeva’s Bach
suites of the seventies for Melodiya,
the German cellist is more consistent
in her adherence to the score yet the
Russian delivers a more secure interpretation
of Bach’s ideas and demonstrates greater
sensitivity to the score. One would
like to listen to Kliegel’s interpretation
of the Bach suites in say a decades
time by which time she will be more
aware of the felicities within these
almost sacred pieces.
Miss Kliegel’s security
of tone fails her in the Allemande
of the G major Suite, particularly in
the middle range, however she quickly
regains control. It is clear that she
has her own clear view on interpreting
Bach and is resilient and authoritative
in portraying these as individual masterworks
each possessing its own unique sound
world. One wants to hear her repeatedly
in these pieces. Kliegel has clearly
fixed Bach to her mast and she emerges
as a distinguished musician in these
jewels of the cello repertoire. The
present readings will find their way
into many homes because of the wide
availability of the Naxos catalogue
but they should retain their standing
in the market for some time, until of
course Ms Kliegel tackles them afresh.
This set was recorded in Hungary some
two years ago and can justifiably secure
a firm place in the record catalogue
along with those by Schiff, Tortelier,
and by her own mentor Janos Starker.
The recordings are crystal-clear and
allow nothing to interfere with our
listening. Highly recommended.
Gregor Tassie
see also review
by Zane Turner
Maria Kliegel (cello) 
