Bjørg Lewis - JS Bach: Cello Suites 2, 3 & 5 [CD]

Johann Sebastian Bach's cello suites continue to fill both performers and audiences with enthusiasm 300 years after they were written. What is it that makes these works timelessly persuasive? In the cello suites, Bach creates the most sublime art from popular dance forms and enables a cello to sound almost like an entire string quartet — and this in spite of the obvious limitations of one performer with one instrument and only four strings. The six different dance movements in each suite offer variation within the composition, with room to explore the possibilities of melody and harmony, as well as rhythm and sound. The result is spellbinding and as complex as it is beautiful. Bjørg Værnes Lewis is one of Norway's most sought-after and admired cellists. When Rostropovich heard her play, he invited her to study with him and said: "With a cellist like Bjørg, Norway need not fear for its musical future." She is a founder member of Vertavo String Quartet, which is the recipient of numerous awards, including Norway's prestigious Grieg Prize in 2005. The Dextra Musica Foundation has generously provided her with a Gennaro Gagliano cello of 1748, previously played by Martin Lovett of the Amadeus Quartet.