Bruno Philippe plays the complete cello suites 

A festival entitled The Other Side must assuredly include Johann Sebastian Bach. If there is a single composer who seems to have a direct line to ‘the upper realms’, then it is Bach. Even the most outspoken atheists are not immune to his spiritual appeal. “Not all musicians believe in God, but they all believe in Bach,” said Mauricio Kagel. 

The young French cellist Bruno Philippe, laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2017, climbs the Mount Everest of cello music. He plays all six of Bach’s cello suites, in two concerts in a single day. This performance is the result of a personal journey. When Philippe was barely able to play concerts during the pandemic, he returned on a daily basis to the Suites, the alpha and omega of cello literature. This resulted in a magnificent recording, which he presented last year and which garnered great reviews in the international press.  

It becomes a spiritual journey for cellist and audience alike, in which making the journey is more important than the end goal. Listen to the Suites in their entirety, and it will give you a unique and indelible experience…