Bach’s superb creations for the cello

Recital
Enrico Dindo
St Augustine church

Enrico Dindo, the 1997 first-prize winner of the prestigious Rostropovich Cello Competition, was back in Malta to participate for the sixth time in the Malta Arts Festival. This year he presented three of Bach’s superb Cello Sonatas which are considered as the most alluring compositions for solo cello in Bach’s superb oeuvre.

A full-capacity crowd filled the church last Sunday to listen to Mr Dindo’s interpretation of Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007, Suite No. 3 in C Major BWV 1009 and Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011 – three out of the six solo sonatas written c. 1717-1723 when he served as Kappellmeister in Cothen. I do not know whether the large number of persons who attended and who had to be seated caused the delay, but the evening started more than 15 minutes after the announced time. However, the beautiful church surroundings and the cool air produced by electric fans, made the waiting bearable.

The same electric fans, while providing a much-needed relief from the heat and humidity, robbed me of enjoying the beautiful low, long notes produced by the 1717 Pietro Giacomo Rogeri (ex Piatti) instrument played by Mr Dindo. The musician himself was affected by the hot, humid atmosphere, as was the instrument which at times was all over the place. However, Mr Dindo’s artistry was obvious for all to follow, with beautiful intimate emotional moments that transcended time and place. Mr Dindo’s music always manages to steal the show.

The first Suite in G Major is the best known of the three works presented. Its six movements start with the famous prelude with its joie-de-vivre, yet performed without any idiosyncrasies and respecting the composer’s intentions. Being a string of dance movements, rhythm is of utmost importance. I must say that at times, and briefly at that, Mr Dindo’s performance lacked colour and excitement, but that must have been caused by the prevailing conditions in the church and definitely not because of lack of artistry by the musician. He did make the best of conditions at his disposal as did the personnel from the MCCA (one of them even worked a fan manually that would not work properly throughout the whole concert). However, as I have already noted, it was the noise from the fans that detracted from the enjoyment of the beautiful low intimate notes especially in the Sarabande in the Fifth Suite.

Bach’s superb music explored all the ranges of the instrument – from the highest to the lowest, from the very fast arpeggio and chromatic passages to the more sedate and quieter ones, from the powerful, demanding and up-beat to the traditional layout, meant however to go further.

That is why Bach’s music is considered as superb. It transcends time and space making it a natural haven through eons, past, present and future. Enrico Dindo must feel very proud to be able to participate in it. And we must feel lucky to be able to host among us an artiste of his calibre.