A memorable collection, a composer whose primacy spans the ages, a great performer. We find ourselves in front of Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) six Suites for solo cello, performed by Antonio Meneses. In J. S. BACH: THE CELLO SUITES he turns to this precious legacy, which he masters like few others. Around the world, he presents it to audiences. In the past, he has recorded it. Now, a new perspective on these eternally meaningful works leads him to rediscover them.

Meneses prestigious career includes the first place in the Tchaikovsky Competition (1982), as well as collaborations with Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007) and Anne-Sophie Mutter (1963). Marked further by regular concerts with the world’s greatest orchestras, such as the Berlin and New York Philharmonics.

In Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: VI. Gigue, Meneses balances sonorous refinement with energetic fluency, emphasizing the agile inclination of the Italian gigue, inherent to the passage. In Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: V. Menuets I & II, ensures a delicate balance between the contrasts and affinities of two minuets, distinct in character but close in the “noble and elegant simplicity” that Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) perceives in this dance. With exquisite rubato—a subtle oscillation in time, maintaining the inherent pulse of the music—Meneses brings the melodic inflections of Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: III. Courante to life.

J. S. BACH: THE CELLO SUITES is the rare case of an album that in addition to being highly anticipated, it already emerges as a reference recording. It will certainly be talked about for years to come.

Text: Daniel Bento – @enxerguemusica