Bach: 6 Solo Cello Suites

As can be easily inferred from his career path, Enrico Mainardi was a cellist whose artistic viewpoint was a grafting of the German school of cello playing influenced by Neue Sachlichkeit to the musical background of his motherland Italy. He recorded the monaural cycle for the Archiv label between April 1950 and October 1955. Mainardi’s Bach is leisurely and contemplative. His playing meditates on the auspicious meaning of the work – it is a musical delta of courteous low notes, a magical prayer of an aged monk. This is a masterful performance, and its value is somewhat different from the performances of today.

Recording: in mono