Zeuill Bailey at Strathmore

It was Saturday afternoon and all were quite excited to hear Zeuill Bailey, famed cellist from the DC area, play the Bach Suites. Six in a row! Hot dog. Well, I arrived in enough time to obtain a ticket: the very last one!! Then, I proceeded downstairs to sit, unbeknownst to me, behind a fellow cellist (!). But first I had to wait, and wait I did, reading the book about the history of J.S. Bach and his super sweet Suites. Well, in short order, the late-comers all filed in after the first Suite and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I would be sitting in a seat in the center orchestra. The man sitting next to me would ask at the end of the concert, 'Are you a cellist?' To which I responded, "Yes, yes I am." He wanted to see my hands, for Zeuill Bailey himself was rather freakish with his large left hand (!). Be that as it may, it was an excellent concert, and Mr. Bailey proved himself not only an excellent cellist, but also a stand-up comedian to boot! For between each Suite, and sometimes in between movements, he would talk about himself and the Suites. For you see, each cellist has an interesting story to tell as it relates to Bach's cello Suites. He talked about encountering an airplane stewardess who screamed because he was indeed a famous cellist and asked if he knew Mo-Mo Ya. Haha, said Mr. Bailey, I do; everyone knows Mo-Mo! Haha, indeed. Well, then Mr. Bailey went on to play the fourth Suite, the one before the intermission. And what confidence he displayed and mastery as his hands went up and down the string board. I took care as well to note how he held the cello and the bow, the placement of the fingers, etc. It was a joy to watch and listen! Mr. Bailey had a way of playing, so he said, that treated the Bach Suites as romantic music. For, as he noted, Bach did have some twenty-something kids in total (!). But seriously, his interpretation took this into account and he was able to render them excellently, such that all kow-towed at his playing. Some of the passages in the Bach Suites are really quite fast, and he performed them, again, excellently. Supposedly, it took Mr. Bailey ten years to master, which as it turns out, is two years less than Mr. Casals. Be that as it may, the concert this past weekend was out-of-sight and he received a standing ovation at the end. The sixth Suite, supposedly, requires one to have five strings and Mr. Bailey cello is a giant cello, so he could play it. But, as he noted, he was trying to enjoy it, yet "bleeding on the inside" as he did so. Haha. Well, he performed it quite admirably, excellently in fact and that was all well and good. Then, finally, as an encore, he played the Prelude to the first cello Suite again for all to hear, as it completed the cycle of the Cello Suites. This was all well and good, for I had in fact missed it. Then, he called it quits, as he had another concert to play that very night, and many stayed to hear it, but the Cello Suites was the main event of the day at Strathmore that day and was sold out, in part thanks to me, me and my cello teacher, that is, who I also saw at the concert. She had an excellent seat about three rows back from the stage. We confirmed our next lesson and so, I will go back to Bethesda and endeavor to play Bach (!). His Minuet in C and Minuet #2, no less. That should be fun!