On track: Rostropovich meets Bach

By WILLIAM DART

Shostakovich admired Mstislav Rostropovich for the way he combined phenomenal virtuosity with a ravishingly beautiful tone, and some of us experienced this when the cellist played in Wellington just over a decade ago.

For those who didn't catch the man in the flesh, a new double DVD of Rostropovich playing Bach's six Cello Suites offers some recompense.

Filmed 13 years ago in Vezelay, with the austere, architectural rhythms of the Romanesque Basilique Sainte Madeleine perfectly complementing Bach's most linear music, this is a fascinating document.

Rostropovich's affable introductions are decided bonuses. Totally at ease with the camera, the man chats as he goes walkabout in the village, dashes off Preludes on his grand piano and, taking to the organ for the last Suite, illustrates the fact that D major is the key of victory, joy and mankind's unification by playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

Johannes Muller's filming is respectful and far removed from the many interpretations loaded on to the same music in Yo Yo Ma's Inspired by Bach series. Occasionally one tires of the camera settling for a frieze or statue when Rostropovich himself would seem to be the more interesting subject, although the pealing bells leading into the final D major Prelude are an inspired touch.

The Suites travel around, with each being performed in a different part of the church. This creates fascinating changes of ambience, and the Fifth definitely benefits from the intimacy of a side chapel, surrounded by images related to the Passion.

As far as the playing itself goes, it is very much a matter of personal taste. If your ideal interpretation is Anner Bylsma's 1993 recording, then Rostropovich could well seem heavy-handed and even melodramatic at times.

These are not the tidiest of performances, nor is Rostropovich's tone always the sweetest or truest. But few can rival the sweep of his vision or his ability to characterise the different movements, from the sprightly G major Courante and wistful E flat Bourree to the finely spun lyricism of the C minor Sarabande.

In the opening minutes, Rostropovich confesses how it took him 40 years to pluck up the courage to record these works; we are fortunate that he remained so steadfast in pursuing this goal.

* Bach Cello Suites, played by Mstislav Rostropovich (EMI 5 99159 9)