Zuill Bailey

Zuill Bailey is one of America’s most distinguished cellists with a fast-growing international reputation. For his sixth Telarc recording, Bailey performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, opus 85, the last work completed by the composer before his death. The disc also includes Vyšehrad, Vltava, and Sárka, three of the pieces that make up Smetana’s great cycle of symphonic poems “Má Vlast”.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Krzysztof Urbanski.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s critically acclaimed previous Telarc recording with Zuill Bailley paired the Dvořák Cello Concerto with tone poems by the same composer. This release of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor also features music by a Czech composer in the programme, in this case the symphonic Vyšehrad, Vltava (The Moldau) and Sárka, the first three movements of Smetana’s popular six-part ode to his native land “Má Vlast (My Country)”.

Zuill Bailey’s other recordings for Telarc include the disc ‘Russian Masterpieces’(CD80724); the Bach Suites for Solo Cello (TEL3197802); the Complete Works for Cello and Piano by Beethoven, with Simone Dinnerstein (CD80740); Brahms’ two Cello Sonatas and song arrangements, with pianist Awadagin Pratt (TEL3266402); and Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jun Märkl (TEL3292702).

Zuill Bailey, the dynamic and exhilarating American cellist, makes his Telarc debut with the release of Russian Masterpieces for Cello. The recording includes Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme Pezzo Capriccioso and Nocturne in D Minor Op. 19 No. 4, and Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 107. Zuill Bailey’s rare combination of compelling artistry, technical finesse and engaging personality have secured his place as one of the most sought-after cellists today. Bailey performs regularly with long-time duo partner, pianist Awadagin Pratt, as well as with pianist Simone Dinnerstein. He is also a member of the acclaimed Perlman-Schmidt-Bailey Trio, which also includes pianist Navah Perlman and violinist Giora Schmidt.

The voice of the cello is uniquely suited to the qualities of passion and melancholy that makes Russian music so provocative to listeners. Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations was written for the German-born cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. When Tchaikovsky left Russia for a lengthy stay in Western Europe, he gave Fitzenhagen a free hand in composition, which resulted in significant structural alterations to the piece. The cellist premiered his version of the Rococo Variations at a Moscow concert conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein in 1877. Tchaikovsky was displeased with the alterations, but later said, “The devil take it. Let it stay as it is.” The Fitzenhagen score is heard in Bailey’s rendition, and is considered an effective presentation of Tchaikovsky’s material.

Shostakovich wrote his first cello concerto in 1959 for the distinguished cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who had frequently performed Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano with the composer at the piano. It was premiered in Leningrad with the Leningrad Philharmonic and Rostropovich. When Shostakovich gave his only public performance as a conductor in 1962, the Concerto appeared on the programme.

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Zuill Bailey’s recording of J.S. Bach's Suites for Solo Cello (TEL3197802) was released in 2010 and went straight to the top of the “Billboard” classical chart.

Last year he brought out a critically acclaimed CD devoted to music for cello and piano by Brahms (TEL3266402). This, his latest release, features one of the most enduring works in the romantic repertoire, Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto. The orchestra on the disc, which also includes two of the composer’s Symphonic Poems “The Water Goblin” and “In Nature’s Realm”, is the Indianapolis Symphony and the conductor is Jun Märkl.

Zuill Bailey made his Telarc debut early in early 2009 with a CD called “Russian Masterpieces for Cello”, a disc which featured music by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.

Towards the end of last year he joined forces with pianist Simone Dinnerstein in a critically acclaimed recording of Beethoven’s complete works for piano and cello. Since then his recording of J S Bach’s cello suites has been a massive success particularly in the USA where it spent four weeks in a row at No. 1 on the Billboard classical chart, and even made the top 30 in the New Artists chart.

Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191 was written in 1894–1895 for his friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan. Dvořák wrote the concerto while in New York during his third term as the Director of the National Conservatory.

Cellist Zuill Bailey's 2010 recording of J.S. Bach's Suites for Solo Cello (TEL3197802) went straight to the top of the Billboard classical chart. His new Telarc album is devoted to the music of Brahms, and includes the Sonatas in E minor, opus 38 and F major, opus 99 alongside several rarely-recorded song transcriptions. Bailey’s musical partner here is his longtime friend, the pianist Awadagin Pratt.

Zuill Bailey made his Telarc debut with Russian Masterpieces for Cello early in 2009, a disc which featured music by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Towards the end of last year he joined forces with pianist Simone Dinnerstein in a critically acclaimed recording of Beethoven’s Complete Works for Piano and Cello. Since then his recording of J S Bach’s cello suites has been a massive success particularly in the USA where it spent four weeks in a row at No. 1 on the Billboard classical chart, and even made the Top 30 in the New Artists chart.

Along with Brahms’ Cello Sonatas in E Minor and F Major, the album includes the composer’s “Sonatensatz”, the so-called “F-A-E Scherzo”, which comes from a collaborative violin sonata composed by Brahms, Robert Schumann and fellow composer Albert Dietrich. It is heard here transcribed for the cello from the violin original. Also featured on the disc are transcriptions for cello and piano of seven of his songs including the ever-popular "Wiegenlied" (Lullaby), "Melodien," "Sapphische Ode" (Sapphic Ode), "Feldeinsamkeit" (Solitude in the Fields), "Minnelied" (Love Song) and "Lerchengesang" (Lark Song).

Zuill Bailey made his Telarc debut with ‘Russian Masterpieces for Cello’ early in 2009, a disc which featured music by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. With this new release he gives his own interpretation to the works that most cellists, including Bailey himself, consider to be the pinnacle of their repertoire, the Six Cello Suites of J.S. Bach.

The first surviving manuscripts of Bach’s Cello Suites date from the middle and late 1720s. Unfortunately they disappeared from public view during the decades after his death, and it was not until the early 20th century that the legendary Pablo Casals brought these great works to the attention of a wider audience. They are now firmly established as masterpieces in their own right and as keystone works for solo cello. Towards the end of last year Zuill Bailey joined pianist Simone Dinnerstein in a recording of Beethoven’s Complete Works for Piano and Cello. The highly influential music magazine International Piano called the set “one of the finest currently available”.

Having received high praise for their recent releases of ‘Russian Cello Masterpieces’ (Zuill Bailey), and the ‘Berlin Concert’ and ‘Bach’s Goldberg Variations’, (Simone Dinnerstein), these two accomplished musicians re-affirm their long–standing partnership with a new 2CD set of the complete works for cello by Beethoven. Simone Dinnerstein and Zuill Bailey have performed together regularly for more than a decade, and together they received the Classical Recording Foundation Award in 2006 and 2007. Both are known as highly accomplished musicians with a flair for arresting interpretations. Simone Dinnerstein has received major critical acclaim for her recent releases of her acclaimed “Berlin Concert”, and Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Zuill Bailey’s recording of Russian music for cello and piano has been similarly well received by the press. Learning Beethoven’s complete works for piano and cello was the first major project that the two of them undertook when they first began working together as a duo. Beethoven’s masterpieces for piano and cello represent arguably the greatest evolution of musical composition by one of the world’s most remarkable and creative minds. The five Sonatas and the sets of Variations chronicle refined points in the early, middle and late stages of his compositions.