'Opening' a Classic: Exploring Strategies for Programming and Performing J.S. Bach’s Music for the Cello in the 21st Century
Researcher: Yanyan Lin
Year research degree commenced: 2021
Supervisor: Neil Heyde
Abstract
Pablo Casals may not have discovered Bach’s Suites for solo cello, but his advocacy helped to establish them as a 'classic' that forms an essential component of the instrument’s core repertoire. An enormous variety of approaches to performing the suites has evolved, with the Historically Informed Performance (HIP) movement making a powerful impact. However, as technical understanding of cello performance practices has developed significantly in the last decades, an adventurous cellist will understandably ask whether there are possibilities that are being left unexplored. This project seeks to find ways of opening new space(s) for approaching the suites, partly through exploring Bach’s music more widely. The thesis consists of a portfolio of three experimental programmes and a commentary exploring the process of devising and delivering them.
A survey of programming strategies related to the suites, analysing data from recordings (via Spotify) and concerts (from the Wigmore Hall archive) reveals that there are only a small number of established models for programming Bach-related cello programmes. This led to the idea that a key way of opening new space would be to explore different kinds of programming strategies. In response, I will be exploring Bach’s works for other instruments in order to generate new possibilities for concert programming and transcription. Music originally written for other instruments requires adaptation for the cello, and in the transcription process three issues frequently arise: how to adapt the innate qualities of different instruments to the cello (and how to sidestep the issues on occasion), how the cellist might perform contrapuntal music that is significantly more complex than would have been attempted on the cello in the 18th century, and how pieces encompassing a broader tessitura than associated with the early 18th-century cello can be convincingly realised. Addressing these issues requires unconventional approaches to articulation, phrasing, dynamics, fingerings, chord spacing, etc.
These 'model' programmes, and the strategies devised to deliver them, may serve as a reference point for others who want to develop a unique perspective on Bach’s cello music. The transcription strategies in particular, can be understood as a way not only of opening possibilities in interpretation, but also means for discovering new capabilities in the instrument.
Main image: The beginning of the BWV 903 Fantasia, from a contemporary manuscript copy by Johann Tobias Krebs.
Bio
Yanyan Lin performed Haydn's D Major Cello Concerto at the age of 19 with the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra for his solo debut at the Shanghai He-luting Hall. He has been invited to festivals such as the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, Encuentro de Santander, Seiji Ozawa Academy, Ravinia Festival, Cello Akademie Rutesheim, Cellofest.fi, Saito Kinen Festival, and Shanghai International Cello Festival. He is also a laureate of the China National Chamber Music Competition and the American Protégé Competition.
Prior to commencing his doctoral studies, Yanyan completed the Academy Advanced Diploma and an MA with Jo Cole and Christoph Richter, with the support of full scholarships from ABRSM and the Hans Keller Award. He has participated in masterclasses with world-renowned artists such as Jian Wang, Steven Isserlis, Gary Hoffman, David Geringas, Jens-Peter Maintz, and Mario Brunello. He received his Bachelor's degree at the Shanghai Conservatoire with Professor Li Jiwu.
Yanyan currently plays on a Gennaro Gagliano 1764 Violoncello, kindly lent by the Academy Museum.