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Last week in “Tune in Today,” we explored the remarkable revival of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music and the first prelude of his “Six Suites.” The “Six Suites for Solo Cello,” consisting of six baroque suites of six movements each, are considered one of Bach’s greatest musical achievements. For a cellist today, they are a pillar of the repertoire—a staple that encompasses the human condition.
Yet this timeless masterpiece went virtually unnoticed for almost two centuries after it was written. It wasn’t until 1890, when a young cellist named Pablo Casals chanced upon them, that the rarely performed suites were set on the trajectory to becoming the most beloved work of the cello repertoire.
Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals (1876–1973) was perhaps the greatest cellist in history. In addition to being a brilliant conductor and composer, Casals was a passionate advocate for human rights and freedom. His humanitarian efforts led to his exile from Spain in 1939 after the defeat of Republican Spain to the Nationalists. After refusing to perform in Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and even the Allied countries (for their tolerance of Francoist Spain), he formed a fruitful relationship with the United Nations in his efforts to pursue world peace. He was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom by John F. Kennedy in 1963.
George Cai, a cellist and an enthusiast of classical music, has toured the globe from Carnegie Hall to the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He resides in New York.
