MSU cello prof Suren Bagratuni to play six Bach unaccompanied cello suites in one sitting

Local music lovers are now enjoying a period of unprecedented great cello concerts. A few weeks ago famed cellist Alisa Weilerstein gave a stunning recital at Wharton Center, playing three Bach unaccompanied cello suites. A rare occurrence.

Then on March 17^th, Michigan State University cello professor and international soloist Suren Bagratuni played two recitals at Cook Recital Hall, performing the complete cello and piano works by Beethoven. He said he wanted to play Beethoven as a gift to himself because he was turning 60..

And now, a mere two weeks later, Bagratuni is about to perform all six Bach unaccompanied cello suites in one sitting. He’ll be performing them in a near perfect place, the freshly refurbished and intimate Alumni Memorial Chapel (160 seats).

Then, on April 10, 12 and 14, Bagratuni is presenting and performing in the 21^st season of Cello Plus Chamber Music Festival.

When the listener hears all six Bach cello suites in one gulp (2 hours and 40 minutes), the works may seem to run together.

“It depends on the player," Bagratuni said. "Each piece is very different for me. I say each piece is like a separate life. They are very, very different. Stylistically, they are all distinct. Even though Bach wrote them all in about two to three days, each suite has a unique personality.”

Growing up in Armenia and studying in Moscow, Bagratuni has been playing the Bach suites since he was 9.

"I’ve have been playing these pieces since my childhood and all my students play these pieces." he said. "This music is part of who I am.”

Each year when he begins to practice the music he will perform that season, one of the Bach suites is always on the docket.

“Facing the Bach each year is always new for me," he said. "I don’t look back to see how I played it before. It’s an open book- a white page.”

Bagratuni claims the way Bach wrote the complex harmonies allows many ways to interpret the music. Without changing specific notes, the cellist often improvises within the melodies and chords, finding new ideas in the music. “Bach’s music lets me do it. I can follow many melodic lines.”

The challenge of playing the Bach suites is that the cellist is playing without accompaniment.

“I am playing a monophonic instrument with four strings, and I am performing polyphonic music with many lines of music," he said. "After I play the complete suites in one concert, my mind is exhausted but my body is not. I have an intermission in the concert, but that’s for the audience to take a breather, not for me.”

Bagratuni has a rich solo career in addition to his MSU duties. Each year he plays about 50 concerts and master classes. He has performed in Hungary, Stuttgart, Boston, Taiwan, Germany, Korea, Bulgaria and Spain, among others.

“Playing Bach is very inspiring," he said. "It cleans my soul. Many bad things are going on in the world, but playing Bach keeps me centered.”

IF YOU GO

Suren Bagratuni, cello

• Bach: The Cello Suites

• Alumni Memorial Chapel

• 6:30pm, March 31

• Tickets: music.msu.edu

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU cello prof Suren Bagratuni plays 6 Bach unaccompanied cello suites