About the Book
Originally dismissed as curiosities, J. S. Bach's Cello Suites are now understood as the pinnacle of composition for unaccompanied cello. This handbook examines how and why Bach composed these highly innovative works. It explains the characteristics of each of the dance types used in the suites and reveals the compositional methods that achieve cohesion within each suite. Edward Klorman discusses the four manuscript copies of Bach's lost original and the valuable evidence they contain on how the Suites might be performed. He explores how, after around 1860, the Cello Suites gradually entered the concert hall, where they initially received a mixed critical and audience reception. The Catalan cellist Pablo Casals extensively popularized them through his concerts and recordings, setting the paradigm for several generations to follow. The Cello Suites now have a global resonance, influencing music from Benjamin Britten's Cello Suites to J-pop, and media from K-drama to Ingmar Bergman's films.
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Look Inside
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About the Author
Edward Klorman is Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Mead Witter School of Music. His first book, Mozart’s Music of Friends (Cambridge, 2016), won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, as well as the Marjorie Weston Emerson Award from the Mozart Society of America and the Emerging Scholar Award from the Society for Music Theory. His second book, Bach: The Cello Suites (Cambridge, 2025), examines how the Cello Suites, once dismissed as historical curiosities, have come to occupy such a prominent place in both concert life and popular culture.
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An accomplished violist specializing in chamber music, he has performed as guest artist with the Borromeo, Orion, and Ying Quartets and the Lysander Trio. As baroque violist, he has performed with Arion Orchestre Baroque, Berkshire Bach Society, Les Boréades de Montréal, Les Temps Perdus, and in recital with harpsichordist Hank Knox. Previously, he held the Canada Research Chair at McGill University and served as chair of Music Theory and Analysis at The Juilliard School. He is proud co-parent to Ellis, a rambunctious Portuguese Water Dog, who is not especially fond of music theory. For more information, visit www.edwardklorman.com.
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About the New Cambridge Music Handbooks
The New Cambridge Music Handbooks series provides accessible introductions to landmarks in music history, written by leading experts in their field. Encompassing a wide range of musical styles and genres, it embraces the music of hitherto under-represented creators as well as re-imagining works from the established canon. It will enrich the musical experience of students, scholars, listeners and performers alike. General Editor: Nicole Grimes (Trinity College Dublin).
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