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”.
June 2010
****
“He's unquestionably a consummate technician; intonation is well-nigh perfect...The sixth Allemande is particularly impressive, reflective but never losing the very slow pulse behind its rhapsodic figurations...Played quietly [Bailey's cello] sounds profoundly beautiful, but at the other extreme it is exceptionally powerful.”
May 2010
“A virtuoso technique, strong, richly expressive tone and a bold, individual manner of playing all result in memorable performances. On an emotional level he's deeply involved in the music; the Sarabandes not only sound beautiful but...develop an intensely expressive character”
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