Aesthetics for Birds

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art for Everyone

Michael Kremer on Bach

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Performance by Yo Yo Ma in 2015

This is entry #31 in our 100 Philosophers, 100 Artworks, 100 Words Series.

Philosopher: Michael Kremer

Artwork: J. S. Bach, The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012. Performed by Yo-yo Ma; recorded in 1983. (Sony Classical)

Words: Well, anything by Bach really. I have loved Bach since falling asleep as a child to the sound of my father playing Two-part Inventions downstairs. This recording is one of my favorites*. It feels to me earthy and real, with occasional rough edges peeking through the wonderful playing. I like to listen to this especially in the Fall; it seems to suit the darkening, shortening days, the falling leaves, the coming cold of Winter. My children have grown up with this as a kind of seasonal tradition.

*The recording above is not the original recording provided by the author of this post. The original link has been removed from Youtube. The video provided above is a 2015 recording by the same performer.

One Comment

  1. Yes it is so beautiful, and if you ever try to play Bach it is so rewarding (even though I am a terrible player, I played viola in high school along with the Double Violin concerto). If you love Bach you MUST watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWv21DKwBFg

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