Bach Suites in the US, 1899-1925
Date Location Cellist Suite / mvts Performance context
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3/13/1899 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / all? Kneisel Quartet concert
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"These suites have been edited most carefully by Mr. Schroeder, who was the
player last night. He played in his modestly authoritative manner, and displayed
in full the purity of tone, the rare musical intelligence, in a word the consummate
artistry which distinguishes this master of chamber music."
Philip Hale in Boston Journal, March 14, 1899, p. 5
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3/27/1899 Philadelphia, PA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / all? Kneisel Quartet concert
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5/6/1899 St. Louis, MO Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“The four movements of Bach’s “Sonata in C Major” was given as a cello solo by
Mr. Schroeder. It was played without accompaniment, but such is Mr. Schroeder’s
mastery of the instrument he convinced his hearers that he furnished his own
accompaniment. …He did not make out of the Bach number a mere exercise to
illustrate his own expertness in fingering and bowing; his first thought was to
interpret the master’s musical idea; and it was that impression the audience
carried away in their memories." St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 7, 1899, p. 17
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10/4/1899 Toronto, ON Alwin Schroeder ? / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“The violoncellist, Mr. Schroeder, played an unaccompanied sonato [sic] by Bach,
in two movements (allemande and gavotte). The latter movement was charmingly
brisk and redolent of the German folk music from which Bach derived many of his
melodious ideas. Mr. Schroeder’s wonderfully broad and noble tone and perfect
execution brought out all its beauties.” Toronto Daily Mail and Empire, Oct. 5, 1899
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10/18/1899 Springfield, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“The Bach movements, for ‘cello unaccompanied, which Mr Schroeder is to play,
are among the gems of the ‘cello repertory, though few players have the genius to
venture to play them in public.” Springfield Republican, Oct. 14, 1899, p. 4
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“The soloist of the evening, Mr Schroeder, was daring in playing from those
unaccompanied Bach suites which every ‘cellist delights to study, but which are
found dry by an audience unless they are played in an ideal manner. But Mr
Schroeder has won so firm a hold on the public that he can afford to experiment,
and the audience was obviously pleased with the delightful rendering of the
“courante” and “bourree” from the third suite.”
Springfield Republican, Oct. 19, 1899, p. 4
1/10/1900 Fall River, MA Alwin Schroeder ? / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
“Mr. Schroeder played a sonata for the violoncello by Bach, a piece well selected to
emphasize his wonderful control of his difficult instrument.”
Fall River Daily Evening News, Jan. 11, 1900, p. 8
1/10/1900 New York, NY Karl Grienauer ? / ? Recital at Waldorf-Astoria
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“The feature of the afternoon was [illegible] ’cello suite by Bach written without piano
accompaniment. In playing this classical composition Mr. Grienaur revealed the
qualities which made his reputation..."
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1/15/1900 Brooklyn, NY Karl Grienauer ? / ? Lydia Venth Trio concert
“Mr. Grienauer played as a solo the Bach ’Cello Suite, without accompaniment,
which he recently played at his recital at the Astoria.” From “Music in Brooklyn”
Musical Courier, 1900, p. 18 (report dated Jan. 19, 1900)
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1/16/1900 Washington, DC Alwin Schroeder No. 5 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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When pianist Breitner could not perform with the Kneisels as scheduled, “Mr.
Alwin Schroeder, the master of the cello, gave as a solo a sonata of Bach, from
the fifth ’cello suite. Of course, it was most enthusiastically received…”
Evening Star, Jan. 17, 1900, p. 13
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2/1/1900 Hartford, CT Alwin Schroeder No. 5? / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
"There must certainly be much interest in a performance in which the ’cello is
made to speak for itself, solely.” Hartford Courant, Jan. 31, 1900, p. 5
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“Another interesting number was for the violoncello, unaccompanied, Alwin
Schroeder playing two movements from a “Suite” by Bach. He takes the
instrument quite out of its accepted field of romance and melancholy sentiment,
and gives to it a virility and strength that is refreshing. None but an accomplished
player would ever have thought of Bach as a writer for the ’cello, but Mr.
Schroeder fairly made the instrument speak the fugue-like passages of the first
movement, and... the second... was given with splendid touch.”
Hartford Courant Feb. 2, 1900, p. 8
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3/6/1900 New York, NY Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Bach’s ’cello solo sonatas are seldom heard as units, as he conceived them. Mr.
Schroeder will play the third of the set of six in C major, as edited by himself for
artistic performance. … Though called a sonata, this work is rather a suite, consisting
of a prelude and three strongly characteristic dance movements...”
New York Tribune, March 4, 1900, p. 28
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“Mr. Schroeder... played Bach’s C major suite for ’cello without accompaniment
and with an authority of style, breadth and dignity of phrasing and a wealth of
tone that delighted his hearers beyond measure. He was recalled many times to
acknowledge the applause bestowed on him.”
New York Tribune, March 7, 1900, p. 6
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3/26/1900 Princeton, NJ Alwin Schroeder No. 3?/1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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As an encore to Schroeder's performance of The Swan and Popper's Spinning Song.
(According to Daily Princetonian, Mar. 27, 1900, p. 1)
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4/12/1900 Brooklyn, NY Alwin Schroeder No. 3/ 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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The Bach selections were announced in the press, but reviews indicate that he did
not play them. Schroeder instead performed The Swan and Klengel's "gymnastic"
Capriccio, which called forth a burst of applause and brought out the artist four
times, though he would not play an encore.” (Brooklyn Citizen, April 13, 1900, p. 9)
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11/26/1900 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / all? Schroeder 25th anniversary recital
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“The suite in C major, No. 3, by Bach, was performed in a broad manner, which
showed that [Schroeder] thoroughly understood classical music of the highest
type.” Boston Daily Advertiser, Nov. 27, 1900, p. 4
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2/5/1901 New Haven, CT Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / all? Kniesel Quartet concert
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“Particular attention should be called to the Bach suite for the ’cello. Last year it will
be remembered that Mr. Schroeder, owing to an accident, was not able to play it, and
he kindly offered to have it on the programme this year.” (New Haven Morning Journal
and Courier) n February 1900 Schroeder had had a badly swollen finger due to a fall;
he promised to play the entire suite the following season (1900-1) (per New Haven
Register, Feb. 28, 1900).
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3/4/1901 Montreal, QC Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 2+ Kniesel Quartet concert
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“Mr. Alwin Schroeder played Bach’s Sonata in C major, for the violoncello without
accompaniment. He is one of the acknowledged masters of the ’cello and produces a
tone of remarkable depth and richness. The bourree movement in particular brought
out his lightness and delicacy of touch, and at times his wonderful execution
produced almost orchestral effects.” Montreal Gazette, March 5, 1901, p. 2
3/8/1901 New York, NY Hugo Becker ? / ? New York Symphony concert
As an encore following the Rococo Variations. “The only real blot on the concert was
the forcing of the soloist to destroy the impression he had made with a piece of
Tschaikowsky’s by adding one of those short tunes so dear to the encore lover. It
was Bach, however, to the cellist’s credit…”
New York Times, March 9, 1901, p. 8
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5/14/1901 St. Paul, MN Alwin Schroeder No. / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Alwin Schroeder, the ’cellist, played Bach’s sonata in C major, a severe composition
that revealed, however, the thorough mastery the ’cellist has over his instrument.
The soloist as well as the quartette was repeatedly recalled last night.”
Saint Paul Globe, May 15, 1901, p. 6
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5/17/1901 Colo. Springs, CO Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
“Suite in C Major for Violoncello solo (without accompaniment): prelude; bourree;
sarabande; gigue” Colorado Springs Gazette, May 16, 1901
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“[Mr. Schroeder’s] power[ful] stroke evolves notes of marvelous resonance. The low
plaint of the prelude changed to a rebellious murmur in the bourrée, and towards
the end of the Suite, the time was increased until the notes seemed to coax and plead
like willful, careless sprites.” Colorado Springs Gazette, May 18, 1901, p. 8
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10/1/1901 Brattleboro, VT Alwin Schroeder ? / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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Concert manager George C. Wilson: "The Kneisel Quartette concert was the
greatest success in our association history. Schroder’s solo work [in Bach] took the
people by storm." Montpelier Daily Journal, Oct. 2, 1901, p. 4
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10/2/1901 Burlington, VT Alwin Schroeder ? / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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Schroeder's solo set described in the Burlington Free Press as Bach "solos for
violoncello." (Oct. 3, 1901, p. 5)
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10/3/1901 Montpelier, VT Alwin Schroeder ? / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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Schroeder again played Bach “solos for violoncello." “Mr. Shroeder’s [sic] solos were
a revelation to many of the possibilities of the instrument of his choosing at the hand
of a master, a real artist.” Montpelier Evening Argus, Oct. 4, 1901, p. 3
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12/19/1901 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder -- with Helen Hopekirk
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Schroeder and Hopekirk performed Bach's Sonata No. 1 in G Major (originally for
viola da gamba and keyboard) and the Grieg sonata on Hopekirk's concert at the
new Chickering Hall. (Boston Herald, Dec. 20, 1901, p. 8)
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5/8/1902 Scranton, PA Alwin Schroeder ? / 1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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As an encore following the Chopin Lento, per Scranton Tribune, May 9, 1902, p. 7
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5/9/1902 Wilkes-Barre, PA Alwin Schroeder ? / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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A Bach “Sonata for violoncello without accompaniment” listed in the program given in
Wilkes-Barre Times, May 9, 1902, p. 8.
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5/23/1902 Denver, CO Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 3 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Alwin Schroeder played three movements of Bach’s C major ’cello sonata as no other
player in America can play it. He does not read into Bach any feeling the composer
did not mean; his playing is pure and clear, and shows a deep insight into the intent of
the Musicians’ Musician. And the audience attempted an encore.”
Denver Post, May 24, 1902, p. 2
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5/24/1902 Colo. Springs, CO Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
Schroeder played the prelude, bourree[s?], and Gigue “with consummate art, giving
another movement in the same suite as an encore.”
Colorado Springs Gazette, May 25, 1902, p. 7
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10/8/1902 Northampton, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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10/9/1902 South Hadley, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 Prelude Kneisel Quartet concert
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“For an encore [to the Chopin Lento] he played with breadth and dignity the opening
allegro of the Bach suite in C major, which he gave in Northampton the evening
previous.” Springfield Republican, Oct. 10, 1902, p. 4
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2/2/1903 Philadelphia, PA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“A sonata in C major for violoncello by Bach, without accompaniment, will
undoubtedly be of interest, as Mr. Schroeder has shown his ability to keep an
audience deeply attentive.” Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 1, 1903, p. 8
"The playing of the Quartet, while praiseworthy and competent... was scarcely up to
the high standard which has been set by this organization. Even Mr. Schroeder’s
rendering of the Bach number was not impeccable.”
Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 3, 1903, p. 2
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2/21/1903 New Haven, CT Alwin Schroeder ? / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“…two movements from a Bach sonata were given by Mr. Schroeder. They displayed
his adequate technique and sonorous tone. But a solo by stringed instruments
without accompaniment is not so pleasing to the ear.”
Morning Journal and Courier, Feb 23, 1903, p. 8
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3/3/1903 New York, NY Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Between the vocal numbers Mr. Schroeder played Bach’s Suite in C major for
violoncello solo. It was a thoroughly refined and artistic performance, sound in
reading, finished and beautiful in tone. Moreover, the audience, which completely
filled the hall…appreciated and warmly applauded it.”
New York Tribune, March 4, 1903, p. 8
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“Mr. Schroeder was greeted with a warmth that told him of the appreciation in
which he is held as an artist when he came forward to play Bach’s C major solo
sonata for the violoncello. A masterly performance it was, technically finished and
fluent, perfect in phrasing, and warm and dignified in conception. It was the work
of a master in style, and a notable realization of what the playing of Bach should be.”
New York Times, March 4, 1903, p. 7
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3/9/1903 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / all? Kneisel Quartet concert
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"…Mr. Schroeder gave a masterly performance of the sonata by Bach. ... [He] played
with a wealth of tone, with consummate ease, and with marked finesse.” Boston Journal, March 10, 1903, p. 4
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“One never realizes perhaps more vividly the appliance and command of Bach’s
genius than when one hears a whole suite, sonata, prelude or chaconne carried
through by a single instrument, its flow of melody never running thin or tame,
and its suggestions of larger development seemingly to be really fulfilled. If Mr.
Schroeder played it in New York as he did here last night, it is no wonder that the
house rose at him as the papers said it did.”
Boston Herald, March 10, 1903, p. 10
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10/18/1903 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 6 / -
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Announced but not played: Schreoder performed the Beethoven A Major sonata
with Harold Bauer instead. “The novelties of the [1903-4 Kneisel Quartet] season
will include a concerto for violins and string orchestra, by Bach; the same
composer’s suite for cello solo in D major No 6.” (Boston Globe, Oct. 18, 1903, p. 33)
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11/6/1903 Stranton, PA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Sonata in C major, for Violoncello—Bach. Prelude. Bourree. Sarabande. Gigue.”
“Mr. Alwin Schroeder, ’cellist, played his number in a masterly and artistic manner
and elicited loud applause.” Scranton Republican, Nov. 7, 1903, p. 7
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1/12/1904 New York, NY Pablo Casals No. 3 / 1 or 2 mvts Sam Franko concert
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Most likely the Bourrees, following a his performance of the Haydn D Major
concerto. Casals "played it admirably, though in a diminutive style.” (New York Sun).
Krehbiel noted that Casals played Bach as an encore “instead of an ordinary show
piece. It was sound and beautiful ’cello playing…” (New York Tribune)
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1/13/1904 Toronto, ON Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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According to Hanna and Fred Feuerriegel, History of Concerts and Performers
of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, Third Edition (May 2020), program
listing on p. 14.
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1/19/1904 St. Louis, MO Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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As an encore to the Chopin Lento. The Bach movements, “the second one being the
familiar Loure… both calculated to exhibit modestly the high-class artist’s easy and
superb control of the instrument.” St. Louis Republic, Jan. 20, 1904, p. 3
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1/20/1904 Indianapolis, IN Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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As an encore to the Chopin Lento. “The applause was loud and long after this
number, and finally the ’cellist responded with an encore number, without
accompaniment—Bach’s “Sarabande,” from his third suite—which gave further
proof of his great ability.” Indianapolis Journal, Jan. 21, 1904
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“Insistently recalled, he added a Bach sarabande, which in its bold simplicity,
unaided by the other instruments, submitted the ’cellist’s skill to the most
searching test, out of which it came triumphant.”
Indianapolis News, Jan. 21, 1904
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1/23/1904 Cincinnati, OH Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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As an encore to the Chopin Lento. “Mr. Alwin Schroeder played the cello solo
with a marvelous tone and temperament. As an encore he gave a Bach Bouree.”
Cincinnati Enquirer, Jan. 24, 1904
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3/8/1904 New York, NY Pablo Casals No. 3 / all? Metcalfe/Casals recital
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Casals also played Beethoven's G minor sonata and the Locatelli/Piatti D Major
sonata. “In these pieces he showed much taste and a highly polished style. His
playing is musical in the best sense, though it lacks the qualities of sensuous tone
and commanding power. His phrasing is beautiful, his intonation accurate, and
there is fine and delicate perception in all he does.”
New York Times, March 9, 1904
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10/15/1904 Evanston, IL Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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10/17/1904 Lincoln, NE Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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The Bourrees, as an encore to the Chopin Lento. “The lively old French dance
seemed strangely inconsistent with preconceived ideas of the ’cello, but the quick
staccato passages were reproduced with marvelous ease and smoothness.”
Nebraska State Journal, Oct. 18, 1904, p. 4
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1/7/1905 Baltimore, MD Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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Schroeder played the Prelude, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue, substituting the
Bach for the Locatelli sonata at the last moment because of a misplaced piano score.
“The Bach sonata was of interest historically, as well as musically. It was under Mr.
Schroeder’s playing a picture of the old master of 250 years ago.”
Baltimore American, Jan. 8, 1905, p. 7
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4/27/1905 Boise, ID Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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"Mr. Schroeder’s Lento for the ’cello by Chopin roused the audience to a high pitch
of enthusiasm and he responded with a delightful Loure by Bach written especially
for the cello.” Idaho Statesman, April 28, 1905, p. 3
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5/2/1905 Seattle, WA Alwin Schroeder ? / 1 mvt Kneisel Quartet concert
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As an encore to the Chopin Lento. “Modestly Herr Schroeder acknowledged the
plaudits of his auditors, finally, after repeated recalls, responded with a Bach gavotte,
delightfully handled.” Seattle Daily Times, May 3, 1905, p. 7
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11/1905 Evanston, IL Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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listed as "Sonata in C major, for violoncello." (Bulletin of Northwestern University
School of Music, kindly provided by Prof. Andrew Talle)
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11/23/1905 New York City Karl Grienauer No. 6 / 3 mvts Grienauer cello recital
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In 1905-6 Grienauer gave five cello recitals at Mendelssohn Hall. The second
program included “three movements of the great sixth ’cello suite (without
accompaniment), by Bach, never before played in America” (from announcement in
NY Tribune, Nov. 19, 1905, p 3). “Mr. Grienauer…had his difficulties…occasioned by a
technic which was unequal to the demands made upon it. His performance of Bach’s
sixth suite, unaccompanied, ...was extraordinary. The ’cello is a patient instrument,
but there are times when it arises in its wrath and punishes the imperfect performer
by showing how dreadful it can sound. It had one of these outbursts of anger last
night.” (“Song and ’Cello Concert” in NY Sun, Nov. 24, 1905, p. 8)
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10/24/1906 Chicago, IL Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Mr. Schroeder, the excellent ’cellist of the organization, contributed ... the Bach
Sonata in C major for ’cello alone. Finer, lovlier ’cello playing has not been heard
here, and we have heard much that was of the highest quality. Tone, musicianship,
taste, intelligence, feeling—all were present in wished for measure and so blended
that an ideal performance resulted. The audience was genuinely enthusiastic, and
with good reason.” Chicago Tribune, Oct. 25, 1906, p. 8
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2/21/1907 Fitchburg, MA Alwin Schroeder ? / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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"In response to many requests from his admirers here, Mr. Schroeder consented to
play a solo, a request which was conveyed to him without any forewarning. He
played two movements from a Bach sonata with consummate artistry. The audience
did not let him go without showing its appreciation of Mr. Schroeder in every way
permitted to the hour and the occasion.”
Fitchburg Sentinel, Feb. 22, 1907, p. 6
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2/1907 Brooklyn, NY Alwin Schroeder ? / 2 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“As a special compliment to the institute audiences that had listened to Mr.
Schroeder during the past fourteen years, he played as his farewell two Bach
numbers (unaccompanied) a “Sarabande” and “Prelude.”
Musical Courier, March 4, 1907, p. 47
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3/19/1907 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“The Bach sonata is one of those wonderful works in which the old master has turned
a monophonic instrument into a polyphonic one, for the violoncello is entirely
unsupported. Mr. Schroeder’s surety of intonation in difficult double-stopping and
chord effects was simply perfect, while the breadth of his C and G string work in the
Sarabande gave a solidity to some of the composition that made one forget that it was
given by a single stringed instrument. The Bouree was the acme of delicacy, and the
dashing character of the Gigue, and especially the double-stopping here, were very
effective. Six recalls followed the end of the work, and it seemed as if the audience
would never tire of applauding the artist.”
Louis C. Elson in Boston Daily Advertiser, Mar. 20, 1907
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"Then, to very hearty applause, Mr. Schroeder appeared by himself to play Bach’s
Sonata in C Major for violoncello alone. It asks not the virtuoso of display wherein
the performer does every trick that ingenuity has been able to extort from the
violoncello or to graft upon it, and does it as showily as he can. Rather Bach’s sonata
asks for the virtuosity that is high and deep understanding and mastery of the
instrument. ...The true virtuoso searches and learns its heart and wins from it the
grave beauty, the clear, dark depth, the songful richness, the stately flow, the
eloquence of contemplation, of melancholy, of subdued passion that dwell in it
waiting his summons. ... Mr. Schroeder’s virtuosity has been such for years..."
H. T. P. in Boston Evening Transcript, Mar. 20, 1907
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"Mr Schroeder’s playing of the Bach sonata was most impressive. It seemed like an
elegant interpretation of the spirit of the artist whom all musical Boston had eagerly
come to hear." Boston Globe, Mar. 24, 1907, p. 54
4/2/1907 New York, NY Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“There was something indescribably touching in his interpretation of this singular
intimate music of old Bach—music with its writer can never have conceived as subject
for public performance. In the quiet, retired and unseeking art of Bach there is an
element peculiarly congenial to the simple and unaffected nobility and artistic
humanity of Mr Schroeder’s playing, which is without display but alive with all that
goes to make solo performances worthy of profound respect. Bach himself must have
applauded his playing last night.” New York Sun, April 3, 1907
10/25/1907 Frankfurt Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 mvts Museum Orchestra concert
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Prelude, Sarabande, Bourree, Gigue per digitally archived program. “The cellist
garnered warm applause with a solo Suite in C Major by J. S. Bach...”
Hans Pfeilschmidt in Die Musik VII: 4, p. 250
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10/22/1908 Brooklyn, NY Alwin Schroeder No. 1 / 4 mvts Schroeder recital
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Schroeder played the Prelude, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue. “In the Bach suite
(played unaccompanied) the player rose to those heights that kindle enthusiasm and
inspire men and women to live for the beautiful in art. If Bach could be played every
day as Schroeder played it on this evening, then the divine in music would advance
more rapidly than it does.” Musical Courier, Vol. LVII: 18, p. 16
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3/1909 Cambridge, MA Alwin Schroeder -- with Arthur Whiting
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On a program with the Beethoven A Major and Brahms E minor cello sonatas,
Schroeder performed "the favorite Air from the sonata in D by Bach” “for a solo
number for ’cello" (per The Violinist (Vol. VI, no 6), March 1909, p 38). This might
have been a movement from the sixth suite or from the D Major gamba sonata, or
(more likely) the "air on the G string" from Bach's orchestral suite No. 3 in D Major.
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11/30/1909 Boston, MA Mirko Belinski No. 6 / all? Belinski Recital
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"[Belinski] warmed to his work slowly and the Bach suite, the first number on the
program, suffered thereby. It lacked rhythmic poise and was played with much
faulty intonation.” Boston Herald, Dec. 1, 1909, p. 5
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12/13/1909 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder ? / 3 mvts Perabo concert
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“He played a courante, a sarabande and a gigue from a Bach suite with much
appreciation in his deft bowing for the genial humor in these dances.”
Boston Globe, Dec. 14, 1909, p. 7
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1/31/1910 New York, NY Alwin Schroeder Nos. 1, 5, 3 / 3 on Huss concert
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Schroeder performed a Bach-suite set consisting of the G-Major Courante, the
C-minor Sarabande, and the C minor Gigue. (New York Tribune, Jan. 23, 1910)
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2/7/1911 New York, NY Willem Willeke No. 6 / all? Kneisel Quartet concert
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2/10/1911 Baltimore, MD Willem Willeke No. 6 / all? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Mr. Willeke, who gave the Bach sonata, is a cellist of the first rank. The
composition he played is one which only a really great artist can perform
satisfactorily. In it the performer gave abundant evidence not only of technical
mastery but of his abundant temperamental endowment. The work of the
master contrapuntalist was given a reading of which Bach himself would be
proud.” Baltimore Sun, Feb. 11, 1911, p. 8
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2/15/1911 Detroit, MI. Elsa Ruegger cm / ? Detroit Quartet Concert
“Mme Ruegger’s Solo a Revelation to the Detroit String Quartet” … “Mme. Elsa
Ruegger appeared as soloist and played the Bach suite No. 5 for ’cello, minus
piano accompaniment. …In interpreting music that calls for technique and
intellectual understanding, she fully sustained her reputation, and perhaps did
the most illuminating work she has performed before a Detroit public.”
Detroit Free Press, Feb. 16, 1911 p. 4
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2/21/1911 Boston, MA Willem Willeke No. 6 / all? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“The Bach sonata for unaccompanied ’cello consists of a grave, sustained melody,
alternating between antique dances of quaint and formal elegance. Mr Willeke
was much enjoyed in this number, not only for the noble purity of his tone and
style and for his fluent performance in florid passages, but for his just
characterization of this music.” Boston Globe, Feb. 22, 1911, p. 17
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5/18/1911 Cleveland, OH Willem Willeke No. 6/ all? Kneisel Quartet concert
“Mr. Willeke gave Bach’s sonata in D major for the violoncello alone… He
produces a beautiful clear tone, and at certain moments in this work gave
almost the impression of hearing a distant organ pealing its deep tones. From
this manner to the light measures of the dance he passed with fluency and skill
that pronounced him a master of the instruments, perhaps the best we have
heard since Gerardy.” Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 19, 1911, p. 7
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2/15/1912 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder Nos. 1, 3, 5 / 5 Recital with Karl Fischer
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“Nobody but a seasoned artist need attempt to play Bach’s music for violoncello
solo, and few do. ... Mr. Alwin Schroeder is one of the few violoncellists heard in
the concert-rooms of this city not obliged to exercise caution with his Bach. On
the program ... stood a group of four pieces by Bach for ‘cello alone—the Prelude
in G major, Courante, G major, Sarabande C minor, and Gigue in C major, to which,
on demand, the soloist added the Loure. In the playing of this group, Mr. Schroeder
discovered again his flexibility of bowing, his finish of phrasing, his varied nuance
(accomplished not with a wobbling left hand, in the too, too modern manner, but
with the bow, a much more difficult affair) and chiefly, after the technical
proficiency without which these pieces may not be played, simple as they sound,
the soloist exhibited once more that mellow scholarship which interprets aright
this clear-eyed, passionless music. Mr. Schroeder’s Bach was, of course, the great
affair of the evening... Boston Evening Transcript, Feb. 16, 1912
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11/20/1912 New York, NY Alwin Schroeder Nos. 1, 3, 5 / 5 Schroeder recital
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Schroeder played the same Bach set as on 2/15/1912, above, again with the
C-Major Bourree ("Loure") as an added piece. “…nothing more delightful than the
four movements from Bach’s solo sonatas the violoncello that Mr. Schroeder played
with the power of a master, with beautiful tone, exquisite phrasing, and a richly
musical quality. There was nothing in their difficulties that disturbed the purity of
his intonation.” New York Times, Nov. 21, 1912
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11/22/1912 Altoona, PA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / 4 Schroeder recital
Schroeder played the C Major Prelude, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue. The
local press described his concert as a “Bach Recital” and declared that Schroeder
“is the greatest of the Bach interpreters. His opening number tonight will be the
C Major sonata." (Altoona Tribune, Nov. 22, 1912, p. 5)
12/10/1912 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder Nos. 1, 3 / 4 Schroeder recital
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“Bach, Prelude and Courante in G major, Sarabande and Gigue in C major” “The
Bach dances were played unaccompanied. Mr Schroeder’s performance of similar
pieces is known here for its variety of style, for virility and breadth of bowing in
songful passages. He was heartily applauded last night.”
Boston Globe, Dec. 11, 1912, p. 5
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2/24/1913 Louisville, KY Willem Willeke No. 6? / 4 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
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“Willem Willeke gave in the Bach Suite in D major for ’cello alone, a superb
demonstration of musicianship and of technique. The suite … is rarely attempted
upon the modern four-stringed instrument. It is a work of prodigious difficulty,
but of corresponding richness… Mr. Willeke played with assured control, and gave
to each of the movements, Allemande, Gigue, Sarabande and two Bourrees [!], an
appropriate and interesting. In response to repeated recalls Mr. Willeke played a
Bach “Gavotte.” Louisville Courier-Journal, Feb. 25, 1913, p. 6
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2/26/1913 Chicago, IL Willem Willeke No. 3 ? / ? Kneisel Quartet concert
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“…the audience was…decidedly appreciative—even enthusiastic—for Mr. Willeke
was recalled some seven times after his selection, and that a Bach Suite in C Major
for violoncello alone. Perhaps the divine trinity of music and von Bulow, the three
great B’s of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, of whose works the program was
compiled, gave some guarantee which prevented any misplacing of enthusiasm.”
The Violinist (Chicago), Feb 1913, pp 45-6
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10/6/1913 Boise, Idaho Frederick Search No. 4 / 3 mvts Search US recital tour
This was the first concert of a 100-concert transcontinental tour by the young cellist,
who in Musical Courier ads was hyperbolically styled “America's Greatest Cellist.” “The
John Sebastian Bach sonata in E flat major, for cello alone, as so competently played,
is a marvelous piece of virtuosity. Here the solo instrument plays also its own
accompaniment, with difficulties so great as to be almost staggering to artists.
Frederick Preston Search is exceptionally qualified, not only by amazing technic,
but also by rare past associations [during his studies in Leipzig], for a masterly
interpretation of this famous suite.” (Boise Capital News, quoted in Musical Courier,
Oct. 29, 1913, p. 44) A list of his tour repertoire includes the specific E-flat suite
movements he played: Prelude, Sarabande, and Allemande. On other concerts he
played the C-major prelude.
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1/8/1914 New York, NY Beatrice Harrison No. 1 / 4 mvts Harrison recital
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Harrison played the G Major Prelude, Allemande, Sarabande, Gigue. The New York
Times critic (probably Richard Aldrich) commented on the monotony created by
her undifferentiated tempos: “The prelude was obviously an allegro movement,
in Bach’s conception, and the gigue inevitably a vivace; but neither emerged from
the pace of an andante in Miss Harrison’s performance.” (New York Times, Jan. 9, 1914)
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2/6/1914 Fort Worth, TX Elsa Ruegger ? / 2 mvts Vaudeville at the Majestic
“Elsa Ruegger, the woman ’cellist, with her husband, Edmund Lichenstein, as
conductor, heads a new school in vaudeville—that of classic music played for
everybody. At the Friday matinee she will play two movements from a Bach Suite,
written for the ’cello alone and the most difficult work for the ’cello.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Feb. 5, 1914, p. 5
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2/20/1914 Houston, TX Elsa Ruegger ? / 2? Vaudeville at the Majestic
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“Miss Elsa Ruegger is an unusual attraction for music lovers, for she plays the
prettiest of classic music on her cello in a way that pleases concert hall and
vaudeville frequenters alike. She will play a couple of movements from a Bach
suite written the cello alone, at today’s matinee.”
Houston Post, Feb. 20, 1914
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11/12/1914 Canton, OH Willem Willeke No. 3 / 5 mvts Kneisel Quartet concert
A review lists all of the C-major suite movements except the Courante.
(Canton Repository, Nov. 13, 1914, p. 15)
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12/13/1914 New York, NY Pablo Casals Nos. 3, 6 / 2 Metropolitan Opera House
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“The Sunday night concert at the Metropolitan Opera House was made notable
last evening by the first appearance here for several years of the great Spanish
violoncellist, Pablo Casals. ...After the [Saint-Saens] concerto he appeared again
and played the prelude from Bach’s solo C major suite and after the “Kol Nidrei”
the gavotte from another solo suite. “It was a memorable performance... notable
... for breadth and the simplicity of a perfectly concealed art.”
New York Times, Dec. 14, 1914
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1/18/1915 New York, NY Pablo Casals No. 3 / all Recital with Harold Bauer
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Casals and Bauer played sonatas by Beethoven (A Major) and Brahms (F Major).
“Mr. Casals... played in New York a dozen years ago, and since then has greatly
enhanced his reputation in Europe. It was well that he should be introduced to
the more serious New York public in a recital so exceedingly favorable to the
finest qualities of his art... . In the solo suite by Bach he played with beautiful
refinement and flexibility, with ease and the authority of an assured master."
New York Times, Jan. 18, 1915
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“The unaccompanied Bach number of the programme, in which Casals showed,
probably for the first time in America, what the ’cello really is, was listened to with
almost breathless attention, yet one could not help wishing that the piano could
have been heard in this number too."
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jan. 19, 1915, p. 7
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1/24/1915 New York, NY Pablo Casals No. 1 / all Recital with Harold Bauer
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“… Mr. Casals was heard in Bach’s G major solo suite, of which he played the
seven movements; and there was in his playing exquisite repose, clarity, breadth
of utterance, and especially a rhythmic incisiveness that give it an intense vitality.
Mr. Casals’s strongest point in this performance was not his depth or richness of
tone; but it was nobly beautiful in the true spirit of Bach.”
New York Times, Jan. 24, 1915
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2/12/1915 Baltimore, MD Pablo Casals No. 3 / all? Peabody Recital
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“An event of the greatest musical importance… It is doubtful if any richer, rounder,
or more vibrant tone has been heard here, and in the Bach suite, especially, his
playing suggested the performance of a string quartet rather than a solo instrument.
His playing, too, is characterized by not a single mood, but by many, so that his
readings were not mere performances, but actual interpretations, imaginative,
stirring and arresting. …a genius…” Baltimore Sun, Feb. 13, 1915, p. 4
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2/21/1915 Chicago, IL Pablo Casals No. 3 / all? Recital with Harold Bauer
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“However little some persons may have enjoyed certain parts of the program
yesterday, …Their moments of comparative boredom they attributed to the
composers. Thus various persons found the Bach suite, which Mr. Casals played
alone, a tiresome and pretentious effort to write a solo for an instrument which
is not a solo instrument.” Ronald Webster in Chicago Tribune, Feb. 22, 1915
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"Such a work is almost always viewed with suspicion by those who have spent
horrible half hours with unaccompanied instrumental solos. … Casal’s [sic]
performance of the Bach suite a week ago was a mistake.”
Chicago Tribune, March 1, 1915
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2/28/1915 Boston, MA Pablo Casals No. 3 / all Recital with Harold Bauer
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“…Mr Casals will play Bach’s suite in C major for violoncello alone. This is in six parts, Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Bourree and Gigue.”
Boston Globe, Feb. 28, 1915, p. 59
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“…Mr Casals plays Bach with a style worthy of greater reverence, but since a member
of the Heavenly host hardly could escape the deadly monotony of a violoncello in
figured music, there is some regret at not hearing an artist of Mr Casals’ noble gifts
in more of the beauties of sustained song.”
Boston Globe, March 1, 1915
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“Casals playing of the Bach suite was a genuine revelation of the ’cello’s power, such
as the music-lover in Boston is privileged to witness only once in two or three
decades. How the audience applauded it!”
Boston Journal, March 1, 1915
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9/21/1915 -- Pablo Casals No. 3 Bourree Columbia recording
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Casals's Bach recording receives top billing in “October Records” ad for new
Columbia releases (seen in Scranton Republican and other papers)
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12/6/1915 Detroit, MI Pablo Casals No. 3 / 3 mvts Recital with Harold Bauer
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“Mr. Casals will then take the stage to play without accompaniment, Bach’s suite in
C major, consisting of allemande, sarabande and gigue.”
Detroit Free Press, Dec. 5, 1915, p. 68
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“His rendition of the not particularly emotional Bach suite was art at its finest, and
won him immense applause.” Detroit Free Press, Dec. 7, 1915, p. 6
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11/1916 Cambridge, MA* Alwin Schroeder No. 1 / ? Harvard University*
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During the 1916-1917 season, a five-concert series under the direction of pianist
Arthur Whiting was given at *Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The first concert,
titled “Music for violin, ’cello, and piano," included Bach's Suite in No. 1 in
G major. Whiting and violinist Albert Spalding performed in other works on
the program. (The Musician, Vol. XXII, No. 7, July, 1917, p. 1/491)
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3/2/1918 New York, NY Pablo Casals No. 5 / ? Aeolian Hall recital
? / 1918 New York. NY Paulo Gruppe. No. 6? / ? Aeolian Hall recital
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2/12/1919 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder No. 3 / ? Jordan Hall recital
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“It is now a late day to speak of Mr Schroeder’s ability as a ’cellist. ... His program
yesterday, a conventional one, and of a pattern correct and approved, consisted of
music classic and modern. Boellmann’s symphonic variations are expected on a
’cello recital program, so also an unaccompanied suite of dances from Bach.
Mr Schroeder played the third. A sonata from Locatelli and a group of shorter
pieces followed. The audience was large and friendly.”
Boston Globe, Feb. 13, 1919, p. 5
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4/11/1920 New Britain, CT Pablo Casals No. 3 / 3 mvts Fox Theatre recital
Casals played the Prelude, Bouree[s], and Gigue, per the written program.
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11/4/1921 New York, NY Boris Hambourg No. 1 / all ? Aeolian Hall recital
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“The ’cellist was Boris Hambourg, …whose fine playing in every way justified his
appearance. …displayed a beautiful tone, a high order of technical ability and a
delicate sense of nuances. The three most important numbers on his program
were Marcello’s Sonata in F major, Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G major, unaccompanied,
and Eugen d’Albert’s Concerto in C major Op. 20.”
New York Tribune, Nov. 5, 1921, p. 10
1/7/1922 New York, NY Pablo Casals No. 3 / all ? Aeolian Hall recital
“Mr. Casals founds his art upon Bach, of whose music he is an unsurpassed
interpreter. Yesterday he began his program with two important works by the
great master; the sonata in G major, with accompaniment of the piano, and the
unaccompanied suite in C major. Both of these he played with an extraordinary
beauty of style, with poetic insight, with an ease and fluency that made light of
difficulties, and with a rhythmic quality that kept the vitality of the music
undimmed.” Richard Aldrich in New York Times
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4/17/1924 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder Nos. 2, 1, 5, 6, 3 / 6 Jordan Hall recital
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Schroeder's Bach grouping was D minor Prelude, G Major Menuetto, C minor
Sarabande, G Major Courante, and D Major Gavotte. He “added a Bach bourree
after his Bach group… His tone, like that of all first-rate cellists, was consistently
free from the slobbering syrupy sweetness that makes the cello an instrument
of torture in the hands of must amateurs and many professionals. Nor did he
court bigness and harshness of tone at the expense of suavity and sonority.”
Boston Globe, April 18, 1924, p. 12
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2/10/1925 Boston, MA Pablo Casals No. 5 / 4 mvts? Symphony Hall
For his Boston farewell recital (he planned to spend the following seasons in
Europe), Casals may have played an abridged version of the fifth suite, because
(only) four movements are mentioned specifically in the Globe review: Prelude,
Sarabande, Bourree, and Gigue. “’Cellist Stirs Crowd With Bach Suite ...
“To hear Casals play Bach’s Suite in C minor without accompaniment was to
have accorded one of the greatest pleasures of the present season. Here in a
great work a great artist reached his apogee.”
Boston Globe, Feb. 11, 1925, p. 21
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12/10/1925 Boston, MA Alwin Schroeder Nos. 1, 3, 6 / 5 Jordan Hall recital
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With this recital Schroeder marked the 50th anniversary of his solo debut as a
cellist (Berlin, 1875). “There followed a suite by Bach, made up by Mr Schroeder
from three of Bach’s suites. It included the Prelude and Allemande from the
suite in G major, the Sarabande and Bourree from the one in C major and a
Gigue in D major. Seldom has music for cello alone sounded more convincing.
Unlike some of his younger fellow cellists, Mr Schroeder does not conceive
Bach as full of large sound. His quiet playing at once a relief and a joy and the
eloquence of the Sarabande, the gentle exuberance of the Bourree, brought
forth much applause.” Boston Globe, Dec. 11, 1925, p. 18
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