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Music

J.S. Bach. Six Cello Suites performed on viola by Michael Zaretsky. Suites 1-3

August 19, 2018, 5:30pm – 6:30pm

Tickets: The Six Suites

On August 19 and 21, longtime Boston Symphony Orchestra violist Michael Zaretsky will perform the Six Suites for Solo Cello of J.S. Bach. Join TurnPark Art Space for an extraordinary open-air musical event in our amphitheater.

"The Six Suites performed as a group (or in two groups of three), are a satisfying, complete experience for performer and listener alike. There’s a progression from one suite to the next, a revisiting of styles and techniques that suggests a concern for the cohesion of the set as a whole, with choices of key also figuring  significantly into this observation. Also, one hears the deepening and broadening of the musical discourse particularly in the last three suites, as the pieces become longer and the structures more elaborate. Bach, as he did so often, managed to balance this sense of experimentation and quest with the most straightforward of musical joys – the pleasures of simple, elegant dance music, the interrelated architectural wonders of pattern and progression, and the gratification of artistic challenges fully met."

Robert Kirzinger, excerpts from liner notes to the CD set: J.S. Bach. Six Cello Suites performed on viola by Michael Zaretsky, ARTONA, 2004

Born in the former Soviet Union, Michael Zaretsky began his career as a member of the Moscow Philharmonic String Quartet and the Moscow Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. In 1972 he immigrated to Israel and became principal violist of the Jerusalem Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra and a soloist of Radio Israel. The following year, he played for Leonard Bernstein who brought him to Tanglewood, where he successfully auditioned for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Besides being a longtime member of the BSO, Mr. Zaretsky regularly plays solo recitals and chamber music; he has appeared with such leading artists as Yuri Bashmet, Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, and Vadim Repin as well as colleagues from the BSO. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Boston Pops, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. A faculty member at Boston University and the Longy School of Music, he regularly performs in the U.S. and abroad. Professor Zaretsky has released highly acclaimed recordings of viola and piano music and solo viola repertoire.

Tickets: The Six Suites