COUNTERPOINT: The Voices Within the Bach Cello Suites
an evening with cellist Christopher Gibson
The Harvard Club of Japan is pleased to present an evening of classical music with cellist Christopher Gibson (Yale College ’11).
Christopher will perform from the Bach Cello Suites, and explain the differences and changes in interpretation among famous cellists since the suites were first “discovered” by Pablo Casals, and performed by cellists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Anner Bylsma, Daniil Shafran, and Pieter Wispelwey. He will discuss and demonstrate the various interpretations, and the differences among a variety of Romantic and Baroque playing methods.
He will also talk about the original manuscript of the Suites most likely copied from Bach’s original by his wife Anna Magdalena Bach (unfortunately, no original Bach manuscript remains) and puts forward his thesis that in the Baroque period, there was a lot more room for improvisational techniques, especially bowings. Sometimes, an emphasis on too much “melodic” playing among cellists has silenced the voices of polyphony that lie deep in the music.
Some familiar pieces, such as the Suite No. 1 Prelude, will be played with close attention to the manuscript, and different styles will be demonstrated. This line of thinking which emphasizes polyphony parallels the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould’s Bach interpretations, which bring out the many voices within.
Christopher will play on an Antonio Testore cello (c.1760) with traditional "gut" strings.
Program
(Selections from the following)
Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G major BWV1007
Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 3 in C major BWV1009
Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV1011
EVENT DETAILS:
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About the Performer
Christopher S. Gibson, cello
Half American and half Japanese, Christopher was born in Traverse City, Michigan and started cello at age four. He moved to Japan for elementary school, and studied cello with Shunsuke Fujimura at the NHK Orchestra. During high school summers, he participated in summer music camps at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Indiana University Summer String Academy. Upon graduating Yokohama International School, he entered Yale University, majoring in Philosophy and Political Science. After passing an audition with Aldo Parisot, Christopher took lessons with Ole Akahoshi at the Yale School of Music as an undergraduate cellist.
After graduating Yale in Fall 2011, Christopher has taught Philosophy, Drama and English. Together with Ruriko Yamaki, he co-founded the Morgan Gibson Academy (named after his father and poet Morgan Gibson), a small liberal arts school, chiefly aimed for Japanese students interested in studying abroad.
In Winter 2012, he won the New Artist Competition at the International Artist Association with comments from violinist Narimichi Kawabata, who remarked that Gibson's Bach "allows the listener to enter the world of the piece." He has recently performed the Bach Cello Suites and Violin Partita at the Sumida Triphony Hall and Minato Mirai Hall.
Website: http://www.christophersgibson.com