Cellist Zuill Bailey’s twin concerts Saturday at the Music Center at Strathmore are a study in contrasts — not only in the music itself, but also in his performance style and in the fascinating ways he works the instrument. His 3:30 p.m. concert is what he refers to as an experience, rather than a recital, as he presents Bach’s “Unaccompanied Cello Suites.” The key here is solo performance.
“There will be one chair in the middle of an empty stage, and I walk out and sit in that chair,” he said. “And when I leave, [the audience] will have heard everything Bach wrote for solo cello! There are six suites, and each suite has six movements, so that’s 36 movements. It’s not just marathoning; it’s ultramarathoning.”
| IF YOU GO |
| National Philharmonic with |
| cellist Zuill Bailey |
| WHERE: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| Time: Solo recital 3:30 p.m. Saturday, performance with orchestra at 8 |
| Tickets: Call for seating and prices |
| More Info: 301-581-5100; nationalphilharmonic.org |
There will be an intermission between Suites 1 and 6, so the audience will experience the first notes Bach wrote and the last, in chronological order.
Speaking between suites is what Bailey feels makes the performance special; his goal here is that he and his audience come out of the experience as different people and that together they have made a journey both musically and verbally.
“It’s more than just what the audience is hearing; it’s what the cello meant to Bach and his experimentation with it,” he explained. “In addition, the exact cello I am playing on was built when Bach was 8 years old.”
Bailey performs on a 1693 Matteo Goffriller cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. He will explain what makes this cello so unique, and how it produces the exact sounds that Bach would have heard back in 1717. Moreover, Bailey illustrates the evolution of the cello throughout history.
Later that day at 8, Bailey will perform Haydn’s Cello Concerto with the National Philharmonic. Music Director Piotr Gajewski will take the podium. This program also includes Beethoven’s “Grosse Fuge, Op. 133” and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major, also referred to as “Jupiter.”
In contrast to the cello suites performed earlier that day, Bailey calls his performance of the Haydn piece “the champagne after the afternoon experience.” Written by Haydn for his own virtuoso ensemble, the piece is effervescent and bubbly, according to Bailey.
“Once we’ve had this [journey] where we go from a single experience of one person to a group where we’re all celebrating together, it’s kind of like popping the cork on a bottle of champagne!”
