Wigmore Hall presents

Gary Hoffman

Bach’s six solo cello suites remain not only one of the summits of the repertoire for the instrument but have won an equally legendary status among the entire classical repertoire as a whole: music historian Wilfrid Mellers described them as ‘monophonic music wherein a man has created a dance of God.’ Thought to date from Bach’s period as Kapellmeister in Köthen, they are generally dated to the years 1717-20. Unpublished until 1824, the suites only really became well known due to the advocacy of Pablo Casals, who first encountered them in 1889 and who studied and performed them in the early 20th Century: it was he who first recorded them in the late 1930s.

Gary Hoffman made  his debut at the Wigmore Hall in London at the age of fifteen, quickly followed by New York. At the age of twenty-two he became the youngest faculty appointee in the history of the Indiana University School of Music. After winning the Premier Grand Prix of the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris in 1986, he embarked on an international career, appearing with the world’s most noted orchestras, in major recital and chamber music series and at prestigious festivals.

He is a regular guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York, and is a remarkable and much sought-after chamber partner. He performs on a 1662 Nicolo Amati, the ‘ex- Leonard Rose’.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Program 1 (Livestream Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 10:00am ET / 3:00pm GMT)
Cello Suite No. 1 in G BWV1007
Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor BWV1008
Cello Suite No. 3 in C BWV1009

Program 2 (Livestream Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 2:30pm ET / 7:30pm GMT)
Cello Suite No. 4 in E flat BWV1010
Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV1011
Cello Suite No. 6 in D BWV1012

These concerts will be live streamed. The video will be available on demand for 90 days after the date of the broadcast.

To enjoy these beautiful concerts visit: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

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