Keeping it real

Cellist Wang Jian plays at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on May 27, performing three pieces from Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. On Saturday, the 55-year-old cellist gave a recital at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, playing Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, No 1, No 5 and No 3. Asked about the music pieces that he chose to play during the recital, the cellist says that Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, which is a collection of six suites for solo cello written around 1720, has rich texture and emotional resonance. They are very important music pieces for cellists since they have been written as practice pieces, intended to help hone a player's technique," says Wang, adding that those suites were largely forgotten by the public and they remained little known until they were performed and recorded by Spanish cellist Pablo Casals in the 1930s.