JANOS STARKER: CELLO RECITAL (DVD)

János Starker Cello Recital

János Starker (cello)

The late Janos Starker, who died in 2013 at the age of 88, was universally acknowledged as one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. His large discography includes well over 100 CDs. However, opportunities to see Starker in performance on video have been extremely limited, and nothing has previously been available on DVD.

The present release consists of a complete recital for unaccompanied cello, given in Tokyo in 1988, with Starker very much in his prime. The program includes Bach’s Suite No. 3 for unaccompanied cello; the Cassadó Suite for unaccompanied cello; and the one work audiences of today would probably most wish to see Starker play, the Kodály Sonata for unaccompanied cello. The Kodály work, which Starker first recorded on 78s and remade on LP three times, helped make his reputation as a great virtuoso. And Starker’s performances of this work brought it into the cello repertory.

The recording has excellent video and audio quality. It was previously available only in Japan, in the obsolete laserdisc format. It is now reissued in cooperation with the Starker Foundation, which will receive all royalties from its sale.

Bach, J S: Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV1009
Cassadó: Suite for Solo Cello
Kodály: Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8