Pieter Wispelwey in an interview

"This music opens up so much more than what you hear or play."

The Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey is among the first of a generation of performers who play the cello in both modern and classical styles. His solo career takes him to the world's most prestigious concert halls.

Classicpoint.ch: You have dedicated yourself to Bach and have now released the third recording of his six suites. What fascinates you about Bach, and especially about these six suites for solo cello?
As a cellist, one naturally has to engage with Bach.
Beethoven composed five sonatas for cello, Brahms two, but Bach, in terms of sheer quantity, wrote the most for this instrument.
Moreover, the 36 movements of the six suites are timeless pieces of exceptional quality. The fifth and sixth suites, and also the fourth, are spectacular; suites one through three are miniature cycles in themselves, incredibly charming and full of character. I am fascinated by how Bach, with this modest and quite limited instrument, creates a relatively simple line on the one hand, and yet suggests an entire world on the other. This music reveals so much more than what one hears or plays. The cello suites are no less significant than the orchestral suites, the harpsichord suites, and the partitas. Within the instrumental limitations, one always hears the universal.

You included a DVD with the CD recording, documenting conversations with Bach specialists and professors Laurence Dreyfus and John Butt. Which insights from these conversations decisively influenced your interpretation?
One of the most important impulses I gained from the conversations was explained by Professor Dreyfus: Baroque dance is fundamentally quite different from the dance of the 19th and 20th centuries. Baroque dance floats and is not a dialogue with gravity, but rather attempts to resist it, to escape it. This means that in the hierarchy within the measure, the first beat is still the dominant, but not necessarily the heaviest. Recreate this floating sensation, especially with a rather ponderous instrument like the cello, the bass, is inherently difficult, but also a very exciting aspect. The aristocracy, the nobility, mingles with the instrument's gravity, as it were, negating it.

They play with a 392 Hz tuning. What does it feel like to play in this tuning?
It's simply thrilling. John Butt had already recorded the Brandenburg Concertos with his ensemble at 392 Hz. I've always been very curious to play lower than 415 Hz. I've performed the suites at 400 Hz several times in concert. 392 Hz, however, was relatively new to me. Perhaps the cello is a bit "happier" at 400 Hz, depending on the room. But the Köthen tuning makes the suites sound different; it brings a new color to the inexhaustible sound world of Bach's suites. It allows for another level of authenticity, not in a dogmatic way, but in an adventurous one.

Do you still enjoy playing the suites with a modern cello and bow, or do you no longer do that?
I always enjoy playing them, regardless of whether it's on a modern or an old instrument. Playing is always a translation, meaning always finding a language that is meaningful. Perhaps playing at 400 Hz in good, suitable acoustics suits me a bit better, but playing the suites in a large hall with a modern cello—that is, translating them differently—can be just as exciting.

You describe the cello suites as a provocation. What do you find provocative about the compositions?
The provocation lies simply in the fact that they were written for a solo cello without basso continuo. We don't know anything for certain about that. That is to say, they are provocative because they are experimental. They are also an invitation to the listener and player to reflect on the essence of music-making. In this sense, the provocation should be understood philosophically.

They play many movements very fast, so fast that even though they are stylized dances, one couldn't dance to them. What are your considerations when choosing the tempo?
Making music and choosing the tempo is simply about making decisions. For me, it's important that the six movements of a suite form something organic and cohesive, with contrasts. Therefore, with the faster movements, like the Gigue or the Courante, I think it's perfectly acceptable, given the overall sound and tempo, to play them very fast. This way, each suite forms a harmonious whole and sounds as if it were all cast from a single mold.

You play the 6th Suite on a cello piccolo. What does it feel like to play the 6th Suite on a 5-string cello?
It's a truly magical instrument, quite exotic for modern musicians and string players. It's a joy to play! It's very expressive and produces a radiant tone. The piece truly blossoms because of it. It's simply wonderful to play the 6th Suite on the high E string.

You studied with Anner Bylsma, who himself also engaged deeply with Bach and made significant recordings. Do you still exchange ideas with him today?
I haven't spoken to Anner Bylsma for at least 25 years. As a 14-year-old, I would lie awake for nights after hearing one of his lectures. However, I never studied Bach with him. He has such a personal relationship to Bach's music, which I also — that much was clear to me from an early age . But I was equally aware that I would have to develop this not through questioning, but through my own feelings, in my own language. I can't judge whether I succeeded. I certainly feel something like love and affection for Anner Bylsma and his approach to Bach.

Do you already have ideas for a fourth recording?
I've already started the fourth recording in Tokyo. It will be something like a guerrilla recording of Bach suites on my Guadagnini cello.

If Bach were still alive, what would you absolutely want to know about him?
Like with all composers of past eras, I would want to know how he played, how good he was, what was important to him when playing. Because he must have been incredibly good as a musician. And like his contemporary colleagues, he was a super-specialist in the music of his time, that is, in modern music.

Interview by Florian Schär | Classicpoint.ch | March 7, 2013