Yes, you read that right: a cellist performs three masterpieces by Bach for solo violin. Italian cello virtuoso Mario Brunello, winner of the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition and one of the world’s most versatile soloists of the instrument, has been working for years on a hybrid instrument, the “violoncello piccolo”, which first appeared in Bach’s time. The now largely forgotten instrument has four strings, sounds one octave lower than the violin, and can therefore play works written for violin but with a deeper and darker timbre, approaching that of the cello. Bach seems to have valued it highly, exploited it in his works, and it is probably for this instrument that he wrote the famous Sixth Suite for solo cello. Brunello’s concert at Megaron the Concert Hall is a rare opportunity to get to know it and enjoy its unique timbre live, and from a true master of the art of playing strings.
