Bach’s Ultimate Music of Consolation: Pieter Wispelwey Plays the Six Cello Suites (1)
In his bestselling book Vertroostingen (Consolations), published by Lannoo in 2022, Belgian psychiatrist Dirk de Wachter writes:
“Bach is the ultimate source of comfort for me. […] I collect recordings of his cello suites. It all began twenty-five years ago, and I’ve travelled extensively since then. Wherever I go, whether it’s Paris, London, Vienna, Madrid, Berlin or New York, I look for editions I don’t own yet. On CD, of course. I now have around one hundred fifty. […] At a concert in AMUZ, I once spoke to the Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey about it. He had just recorded the cello suites for the third time. But the Hungarian cellist János Starker recorded them at least six times. ‘I know,’ Wispelwey replied, ‘but I’m still young.’” (pp. 119-121)
Wispelwey has since passed the age of sixty, yet the tally still stands at three. Perhaps he will surprise us one day with a fourth recording of all six cello suites. For now, however, we invite you to rediscover a live performance that has never been released on CD.
The recording was made on Saturday afternoon, 14 January 2017, at the Noorderkerk in Amsterdam. This programme features Suites Nos. 1-4; we’ll save the final two for next week.
Playlist:
Works byJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):
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- Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
- Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008
Pieter Wispelwey (cello)
Date: Saturday, 14 January 2017
Venue: Noorderkerk, Amsterdam
Sound engineer: Wijnand de Groot- Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009 (arranged for carillon)
Arie Abbenes (carillon) [Hemony, 1664]
Date: Friday, 29 October 2021
Venue: Dom Tower, Utrecht
Sound engineer: Theo van Soest- Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
- Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010
Pieter Wispelwey (cello)
Date: Saturday, 14 January 2017
Venue: Noorderkerk, Amsterdam
Sound engineer: Wijnand de Groot- Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 (arranged for carillon)
Arie Abbenes (carillon) [Hemony, 1664]
Date: Friday, 29 October 2021
Venue: Dom Tower, Utrecht
Sound engineer: Theo van Soest
