Six Suites for Cello, BWV 1007–1012, are regarded as the ‘Old Testament’ for cellists, who consider them excellently, ‘naturally’ written for performing. Bach often moved, taking up new engagements (organist in Arnstadt, court organist in Weimar, court Kapellmeister in Köthen etc.) until he settled in Leipzig in 1723, becoming a cantor at St Thomas Church, where his composing intensified. Many of his today highly regarded works were written as exercises, teaching examples, like his inventions for example, but he combined earlier contrapuntal traditions, chromatic harmonies, baroque affect and symbols in all musical forms to additionally emphasise the message and religious content of his works, his worldview. He apparently considered his work more of a craft than an achievement of a genius in the Romantic sense, which, of course, does not diminish the beauty of his works. Johann Sebastian Bach (Eisenach, 1685 – Leipzig, 1750), the composer who, according to many, started everything, significantly contributed to cello literature with his cello suites. Dedication to Sacher is revealed in the use of the letters of his name, which became Es, A, C, H, E, D in German notation (E-flat, A, C, B, E, D), as well as in the quote from the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Béla Bartók, commissioned and premiered by Paul Sacher.

Like in other works on this evening’s programme, the range of the cello is expanded with scordatura – different tuning of the instrument that changes its timbre. This final version of Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher is a short suite with three lyrical, virtuosic movements. He stated that he had not written this addition on commission, but out of his own need he dedicated the movements to Rostropovich, who premiered them in Basel in 1982. One of the composers, Henri Dutilleux expanded his homage to Sacher six years later by adding two more parts – movements. The occasion was the 70th birthday of Paul Sacher, leader of the Basler Kammerorchester for over fifty years. In 1976, the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich commissioned twelve composers to write a piece for solo cello on the name ‘Sacher’. His works include sonatas for piano and oboe, Cello Concerto Tout un monde lointain, Violin Concerto L'arbre des songes, String Quartet Ainsi la nuit and two symphonies. … But his voice, marked by sensuously handled harmony and color, was his own.’ĭutilleux was a perfectionist, highly critical towards himself, and allowed only a few of his works to be published. Between Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulez in age, he was little affected by either, though he took an interest in their work. Music critic Paul Griffiths wrote that ‘Dutilleux’s position in French music was proudly solitary. In his first programme at this year’s Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Nicolas Altstaedt interprets a work that is part of the cello canon – one of Bach’s suites – followed by a more recent classic, Kodály’s Sonata, Dutilleux’s piece written around four decades ago, and a recent solo work by the contemporary composer Jörg Widmann.įrench composer Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (Angers, 1916 – Paris, 2013) worked for Radio France and taught at the ENMP and CNSM. Solo recital is a very popular, but quite demanding type of concert performance, because it brings to the fore all the possibilities of sound the interpreter and the instrument are completely exposed, without a moment to rest. MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMME: Notes by Dina Puhovski Zoltán Kodály: Sonata for solo cello, Op.8

Henri Dutilleux: Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher (Three Stanzas on the Name Sacher)

Dutilleux 3 strophes bartok quote