Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ralph Kirshbaum :: Bach: Cello Suites / Kirshbaum

A little odd, but convincing

David A. Beamer | Clawson, MI United States | 11/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is no doubt that Kirshbaum knows what he wants to do with these suites. Whether or not you like his approach is a matter of taste. For me, there are more satisfying performances than this one.There are some odd mixtures of philosophy here. He uses a cello made in 1729, but tunes it using the 20th-century A=440 standard. And he uses far more ornamentation than I've heard in all my other recordings of these suites *combined* (I have 4). An on top of that, he fiddles around with the rhythm, using more rubato than almost any other performance I've heard.One definite negative (for nit-pickers like me) is how the performance is recorded. The miking is so close you can hear Kirschbaum breathing. Which wouldn't be so bad if he breathed normally, but in the quicker movements, he breathes quicker -- sometimes sounding like he's hyperventilating. I find it quite distracting at times.Not a bad performance or recording, but you could find better."

This Man Knows How To Play!

08/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A somewhat romantic reading, but Ralph Kirshbaum never seems to milk it too much. He lets the music breathe beautifully. Unfortunately, he himself breathes somewhat noticably, which distracts some listeners (my wife, for instance). But there is so much to recommend here. His reading of the sixth suite's allemande sends me like no other I've heard. Overall, there's a great level of consistency, focus, and internal integrity to these performances, which also benefit from an exceptionally clear and present soundstage. I bought this for more than twice the price before it was repackaged as a cheap release, and I never regretted it."

Feeling and intellect - like Bach himself

01/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kirshbaum's performance strikes me as being about halfway between the almost over-indulgent emotionalism of Rostropovich and the almost too-refined elegance of Gendron. He has more rubato than a straightforward approach (in a nice mix of Romanticism and 18th-century performance practice). But he foregoes the eccentricities of an approach that uses the music primarily for self-expression (as though it had been written in and for the 20th-century). I might say that if you had to choose but one excellent performance that synthesizes the best of both worlds, Kirshbaum would be a good choice. The sound, too, is excellent."