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Friday 29 July, 20:30, Teatro Foce
Saturday 30 July, 9:30-12:30, Teatro Foce
CONCAVE OR CONVEX?
The Cello: The Human Voice. This definition describes the most evident aspect of the prince of the string family—its ability to sing! – so similar to the human voice in its varied registers, both masculine and feminine. With the development of the repertoire, composers of every era at the same time sought to develop new polyphonic possibilities, looking for ways to play more than one string at a time. But there weren’t many ways to do this. In contrast to playing chords on a keyboard, chords on the cello could only be played as “arpeggios;” that is, playing two strings together, then passing quickly to the other two. But what about playing three strings at once, or four? It was exactly for this purpose that the German cellist Michael Bach designed the bow with the backward curve called the BACHbogen®. The arched bow had been seen previously in the historical iconography of stringed instruments, and the reproduction of one had already been attempted by Knud Vesterggard, who in the ‘50s created the Vega Bow, used by Hungarian violinist Emil Telmanyi to record the Sonatas and Partitas of J.S.Bach.. The BACHbogen®, however, is fitted with a mechanical lever moved by the thumb in order to regulate the tension, thus allowing a “classical” execution on just one string in addition to playing on multiple strings. This truly technical innovation proves to be very interesting for the performance of historical works like the famous Solo Cello Suites of J.S.Bach, written ca. 1720, as well as for contemporary works. It was none less than the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, to whom Michael Bach presented the bow in 2001 during the week of the Rostropovich Competition in Paris, and who clearly identified the bow’s potential, wishing to promote its use and to encourage new compositions requiring it. Michael Bach, not only cellist and scholar (author of the book Fingerboards & Overtones) but also composer, has already written original works for the BACHbogen®, and new works have been created by Cage, Schnabel, Walter Zimmermann and others.
In his concert Michael Bach will use The BACHbogen® in pieces from different eras, and during the workshop (in collaboration with the Nicolo Paganini Legacy) he will demonstrate its technique in performance. It will also be possible to try out various models.
PROGRAM
Michael Bach Bachtischa
Souvenir de Paganini (2004)
Paganini non ripete (2000/2005)
5 Pitches, 13 Notes (2005)
3 Pitches, 21 Sounds (1997)
C-A-G-E (1992)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite I in G Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Menuett I & II
Gigue
- Pause -
Dieter Schnebel
Etüden (1992)
Text 1
Zwischenstück
Text II
Zwischenstück
Text IV
Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite II in d minor
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Menuett I & II
Gigue
Nicolò Paganini
Capriccio (1828) for Violin
Transcription for Cello with Curved Bow by Michael Bach Bachtischa
Michael Bach, Violoncello with Curved Bow (BACHbogen®)
WORKSHOP
During the workshop, Michael Bach will show the technique of BACHBogen®: the curved bow for string instruments which permits to play 3 or 4 strings together. It will be possible for all cellists to try out various models of curved bow.
(Saturday 30 July, 9:30-12:30, Teatro Foce)
LINKS
http://bach.bogen.pagespro-orange.fr/index.htm
http://www.agendalugano.ch/estivalugano/programma/musica/michael-bach
http://www.longlake.ch/index.php/site/detail/id/139
http://www.paganinilegacy.com
http://www.agendalugano.ch/estivalugano/programma/workshop-%2526-masterclass/michael-bach
http://longlake.ch/index.php/site/detail/id/142
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