This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Johann Sebastian Bach

56

Audio CD
$17.04
Yo-Yo Ma

144

Audio CD
$17.34
Edward Elgar

30

Audio CD
$49.00
J.S.Bach

1

Audio CD
Johann Sebastian Bach

43

Audio CD
$18.23
Johann Sebastian Bach

3

Audio CD
$34.38

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is Yo-Yo Ma's first recording of Bach's Cello Suites, digitally recorded in 1983 and first issued on LP. He has since made a second recording of the Suites in 1998, taken from the soundtrack of a video series, so it's interesting that the earlier set remains available. If you've been lucky enough to hear Ma play this music in concert, you'll realize that neither set represents his Bach at its best. This rendition is generally quite straightforward, beautifully played and musically sound but sometimes not very emotional. The second set is more expressive but frequently seems self-conscious. Either of these recordings is a worthy representation of Bach's superb music, but neither attains the mature eloquence of Starker's final recording, a level Ma will probably reach himself in his third recording. --Leslie Gerber

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Suite No. 1, S. 1007 In G Major: Prelude

2. Suite No. 1, S. 1007 In G Major: Allemande

3. Suite No. 1, S. 1007 In G Major: Courante

4. Suite No. 1, S. 1007 In G Major: Sarabande

5. Suite No. 1, S. 1007 In G Major: Menuett

6. Suite No. 1, S. 1007 In G Major: Gigue

7. Suite No. 4, S. 1010 In E-Flat Major: Prelude

8. Suite No. 4, S. 1010 In E-Flat Major: Allemande

9. Suite No. 4, S. 1010 In E-Flat Major: Courante

10. Suite No. 4, S. 1010 In E-Flat Major: Sarabande

11. Suite No. 4, S. 1010 In E-Flat Major: Bourree

12. Suite No. 4, S. 1010 In E-Flat Major: Gigue

13. Suite No. 5, S. 1011 In C Minor: Prelude

14. Suite No. 5, S. 1011 In C Minor: Allemande

15. Suite No. 5, S. 1011 In C Minor: Courante

16. Suite No. 5, S. 1011 In C Minor: Sarabande

17. Suite No. 5, S. 1011 In C Minor: Gavotte

18. Suite No. 5, S. 1011 In C Minor: Gigue

Disc: 2

1. Suite No. 2, S. 1008 In D Minor: Prelude

2. Suite No. 2, S. 1008 In D Minor: Allemande

3. Suite No. 2, S. 1008 In D Minor: Courante

4. Suite No. 2, S. 1008 In D Minor: Sarabande

5. Suite No. 2, S. 1008 In D Minor: Menuett

6. Suite No. 2, S. 1008 In D Minor: Gigue

7. Suite No. 3, S. 1009 In C Major: Prelude

8. Suite No. 3, S. 1009 In C Major: Allemande

9. Suite No. 3, S. 1009 In C Major: Courante

10. Suite No. 3, S. 1009 In C Major: Sarabande

11. Suite No. 3, S. 1009 In C Major: Bouree

12. Suite No. 3, S. 1009 In C Major: Gigue

13. Suite No. 6, S. 1012 In D Major: Prelude

14. Suite No. 6, S. 1012 In D Major: Allemande

15. Suite No. 6, S. 1012 In D Major: Courante

16. Suite No. 6, S. 1012 In D Major: Sarabande

17. Suite No. 6, S. 1012 In D Major: Gavotte

18. Suite No. 6, S. 1012 In D Major: Gigue

Product Details

Performer: Yo-Yo Ma
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: CBS Masterworks
ASIN: B0000025QM
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,750 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- #783 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Suites
- #7110 in Music > Classical > Chamber Music

Amazon's Yo-Yo Ma Store

›

Visit Amazon's Yo-Yo Ma Store

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		72%
4 star		12%
3 star		4%
2 star		6%
1 star		6%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Straightforward but soulful

ByDavid C. Moseson June 9, 2000

Format: Audio CD

I own three popular recordings of the Bach cello suites and can check out two others from a local library. But this recording is by far the one that I listen to most often. One reason has to be the quality of the recording, which I think is generally acknowledged. But more important are Ma's impeccable technique and good musical taste: he plays what Bach wrote, and plays it more clearly and with less unnecessary embellishment than anyone else I have heard. (Call me a purist if you want to, but in my opinion piling on the rubato does not convert the cello suites into a mystical experience.)
When I applaud Ma's technique and say that he plays what Bach wrote, I am not implying that he plays mechanically -- not at all. He plays quite soulfully in my opinion. For example, he brings the Gigue of Suite 1 to life as Casals and Starker, at least, do not. He does that with dynamic variation, and by controlling the tone of his cello, mixing sweet phrases with scratchy ones. I wish that Gigue were included in Amazon's samples, as it would put to rest any charges of mechanical playing.
One customer reviewer said that if the name Ma were taken off the package, all that would remain would be another mediocre rendition of Bach's cello suites. I disagree strongly. I bought the recording on a friend's recommendation, and was not particularly a Ma fan at that time. It is this recording that made me a Ma fan.
Of course, my opinion about this recording is not intended to take away from other great performances. And I haven't heard the later Ma recording yet; maybe it is even better. But as far as I'm concerned, Ma's great technique and straightforward yet soulful approach to the suites should allow this recording to stand proudly among the best of them.

11 comment 49 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Sets a new performance standard

ByAdam Chenon May 22, 2004

Format: Audio CD

While I have heard only one other piece played in a different style for whom I can compare to, I must admit that I believe this is an almost perfect rendition of all Bach's Cello Suites. I wonder where any criticism can come in, except to say that maybe his breathing is annoying. But who can stop their breath? Especially when you need to put so much heart into this beautiful thing... Perhaps it's disappointing to note that these musical melodies will activate not just your pleasure centers, but also the faces you take when you think. This will change a dinner's mood to philosophical and otherwise. You'll be forced--that's the key ingredient to good music--to pay attention. You can't walk around, you must sit, and, listen.
There is no other way to say this: the performance is flawless. It has no style. He has become a perfect melody of nothing, allowing the full style of Bach himself to come through, throwing away his ego's tendency to improvise. Noting that the pieces were meant to be played in full, these are the only cello recordings I believe that can be viewed, heard, smelt, felt, and understood through the whole recording. Other artists playing these works manage to gather up large emotional swells within us, but only for the beginning five minutes or so. Or so the first minute shows us, until we get bored and stop the music. These are pure rhythm-meditations, designed to make us think. Not for relaxation, but for peace.

0Comment 23 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

This CD makes my life richer each time I listen to it.

ByA customeron September 22, 1998

Format: Audio CD

I have always found Bach to be tolerable, alright as background music for studying because it was not alive enought to distract me.However, When I heard Yo-Yo Ma playing these cello suites, I was truly moved. Each time I listen to it, the music draws me in and I ride on the waves of his cello. The performance feels so personal to me because occasionally, you can hear Yo-Yo Ma's breathing, sometimes sharp inhalation, sometimes drawn out- it creates an image in my mind of what he looks like and is feeling while he plays these pieces, and it takes me there too. This CD has made classical music come alive to me. It is a very personal, sensual CD.

0Comment 26 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Better than the newer version -- more magical

ByA customeron November 25, 2000

Format: Audio CD

This is awesome in expressiveness. Really touching to listen to. It is fresh and inspiring over and over again, every time I listern to it anew. I also got the "Inspired by Bach" version which was a companion to the PBS television series with Yo-Yo. But that one just does not seem as magical as this 1987 version.

0Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Not the best recordings of this music

ByA customeron April 11, 1999

Format: Audio CD

In this repertoire Fournier and Casals are both better; Rostropovich is best. To be fair, Ma is a world-class cellist who has produced some fine recordings. But here the young Ma must compete with masters, and these performances, made early in Ma's career, come up short. (A Yo-Yo Ma acolyte may, however, find much to enjoy in the viridity Ma's playing.) If you want another opinion, check Gramaphone Magazine's reviews online. Or buy all of these recordings as I have and compare for yourself.

11 comment 29 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

sweet

ByA customeron June 17, 2004

Format: Audio CD

Pablo Casals was the first to regard these suites as concert pieces rather than mere technical exercises, or so we are told. Rostropovich approaches them with great reverence, but perhaps too much reverence. Depending on your mood or musical philosophy you may well prefer the happy medium we have here.
(I think of the guitar: the rich vibrato of Andre Segovia and Christopher Parkening in contradistinction to the dryer sound preferred by many modern guitarists, and someone such as Ron Rendek, say, falls more or less in-between.)

0Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Perfect, the standard for all Cello music

ByAmazon Customeron January 2, 2001

Format: Audio CD

This recording is the best solo cello albulm I have ever heard. It's fun to compare other artists, other insturments, and other recordings but you'll come back to this. Some will say Ma plays to aggressively, I disagree. Yo Yo Ma made a more mellow recording recently to satisfy those with weak hearts. This Bach Rocks. It's as good as it gets. If I could give this TEN stars I would. It's twice as easy and exciting to listen to than others. Of my entire collection of music it is the finest piece of pure music I have.

0Comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Inspirational artistry matched by superb sound quality

ByA customeron October 23, 1999

Format: Audio CD

a wonderful combination of a great artist and a great recording.
There are other artists that may match ma's playing, but the recording quality of this CD set makes it shine above the rest.