Rating: 3/5
Review:
Not a favourite
I have the profoundest respect for Janos Starker who was a
magnificent cellist, but this, his fifth and final recording of the
Bach Cello Suites, doesn’t quite hit the spot for me.
There is no doubt
that Starker is technically superb, his cello sounds wonderful and he
has plainly thought deeply about the Cello Suites for many years.
However, I find that there is a point at which interpretive phrasing
can become excessive rubato which loses the flow and Bach’s
essential pulse; Starker goes beyond that point too often for me.
The prelude to the First Suite just doesn’t run as I would like and
the wonderful prelude of the Third Suite also loses much of its
flowing beauty in Starker’s slightly halting phrasing. I also
found the Sarabande of the Fifth Suite (an astonishing movement)
lacked a little of the depth and power I often find in it.
At this level of
excellence, preferences are almost purely personal and others may
disagree, but I prefer other recordings including Fournier, Isserlis,
Watkin, Gastinel I’ll be sticking to them.
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