Xenia Janković - Bach: Complete Cello Suites (2017) [Official Digital Download]

Celebrated for her brilliant qualities as a first class cellist, Xenia Jankovic carries out a worldwide career as soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue.

Born into a family of Serbian and Russian musicians, Xenia debuted with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra at age nine. From the beginning of her career, her teachers of most important influence were Rostropovich, Fournier, Navara, Sebök and Végh.

The public and critics alike have enthusiastically acclaimed Jankovic’s recitals in world famous concert halls as well as her concerts as soloist with great orchestras. These have included the London, Budapest, Ljubljana Philharmonic Orchestras and the Madrid, Berlin and Copenhagen Radio Orchestras. She has recorded as soloist for PGP, CPO, Saphir and most recently, in 2015, she recorded the Bach Cello Suites for “Melism” in France. Her upcoming recording projects will be the Haydn Cello Concertos and the Beethoven Sonatas with Pianoforte.

Xenia continues to inspire many composers to write music for her instrument. She has premiered many works by Serbian composers in particular, and has recorded and worked on editions of the pieces written for her.

Xenia Jankovic is a member of the Hamlet Piano Trio, who saw the release of the two Mendelssohn piano trios for Channel Classics in 2015, as well as their debut in the USA. She is also cellist of the Uriel Quartet, whose focus is on the works of Beethoven and Bartók. The quartets homage is to the great musician Sándor Végh, who was of crucial importance to the musical inspiration of all four members. In other chamber music, she plays among others with Andras Schiff, Gidon Kremer, Isabelle Faust, Helene Grimaud and Heinz Holliger. Since the age of 20, she has been regularly invited to chamber music festivals including Lockenhaus, Kuhmo and Prussia Cove and is since 2010 the Artistic Director of Chamber Music at Musikdorf Ernen.

In recent times, Jankovic has found a great interest in revisiting repertoire from earlier years, working profoundly on cycles from one composer in many settings. Returning for example to all Beethoven or Mendelssohn works (including sonatas, trios and quartets) with different colours and sounds, is a current passion. Exploring works that she has performed regularly in her career has led her to a different approach to performance – playing with gut strings, baroque bow and with different instruments, in particular with the Pianoforte from the early 19th century.

Xenia Jankovic is a passionate teacher, and has been Professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold since 2004. She was a professor in Würzburg from 1989-2004 and in Zagreb from 1985-1989.

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007 to 1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–23, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title given on the cover of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for cello solo without bass).

These suites for unaccompanied cello are remarkable in that they achieve the effect of implied three- to four-voice contrapuntal and polyphonic music in a single musical line. As usual in a Baroque musical suite, each movement is based around a baroque dance type; the cello suites are structured in six movements each: prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, two minuets or two bourrées or two gavottes, and a final gigue. The Bach cello suites are considered to be among the most profound of all classical music works. Wilfrid Mellers described them in 1980 as "Monophonic music wherein a man has created a dance of God."

Due to the works' technical demands, étude-like nature, and difficulty in interpretation because of the non-annotated nature of the surviving copies, the cello suites were little known and rarely publicly performed until they were revived and recorded by Pablo Casals in the early 20th century. They have since been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists, have also been transcribed for numerous other instruments, and are considered some of Bach's greatest musical achievements.

Tracklist:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

01. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: I. Prélude
02. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: II. Allemande
03. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: III. Courante
04. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: IV. Sarabande
05. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: V. Menuet I-Menuet II
06. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: VI. Gigue
07. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: I. Prélude
08. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: II. Allemande
09. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: III. Courante
10. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: IV. Sarabande
11. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: V. Bourrée I-Bourrée II
12. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: VI. Gigue
13. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: I. Prélude
14. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: II. Allemande
15. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: III. Courante
16. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: IV. Sarabande
17. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: V. Bourrée I-Bourrée II
18. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: VI. Gigue
19. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor BWV 1011: I. Prélude
20. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor BWV 1011: II. Allemande
21. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor BWV 1011: III. Courante
22. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor BWV 1011: IV. Sarabande
23. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor BWV 1011: V. Gavotte I-Gavotte II
24. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor BWV 1011: VI. Gigue
25. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prélude
26. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: II. Allemande
27. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: III. Courante
28. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: IV. Sarabande
29. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: V. Gavotte I-Gavotte II
30. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: VI. Gigue
31. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude
32. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: II. Allemande
33. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: III. Courante
34. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: IV. Sarabande
35. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: V. Menuet I-Menuet II
36. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: VI. Gigue

Personnel:
Xenia Janković (cello)