Yo-Yo Ma Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites

Yo-Yo Ma was in his late twenties when, in 1982, he first took Bach’s solo cello suites into the studio. Landmark recordings were relatively few at that time, though they included Pablo Casals’ pioneering and much-venerated complete set from the late 1930s, and Paul Tortelier’s 1961 account. Released in 1983, Yo-Yo Ma’s first recording of three is still a favorite among the suites’ many fans: in its musicianship and beauty, his playing sounds as timeless as it did when it was first released, and the sound is superb—all the more so with its remastering for the recording’s 40th anniversary. These performances are songful, unpretentious, yet inherently passionate in their ardent flow, with an irrepressible sense of where each dance movement is heading.