PSU violin professor Tomás Cotik releases double album featuring Bach’s Six Cello Suites

Tomás Cotik, professor of violin, kicked off the new year with the release of his latest album, J.S. Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 1-6, BWV 1007-1012. The double album features Bach’s Six Cello Suites transcribed for violin, with more than 30 movements in all.  

The album joins Cotik’s rich discography, which includes complete opuses by Bach, Telemann, Mozart, and Schubert, and his own arrangement of music by fellow Argentinean Astor Piazzolla. Cotik’s work has earned recognition by notable music publications including Gramophone and Fanfare magazines. A recently published article from The Strad offers a firsthand perspective from the artist, who shares his experience of interpreting Bach’s masterpiece.   

Cotik worked on the album during the pandemic when performances were still closed to the public. “I was completely alone in the hall, recording and engineering this album, inside an empty building, in a desolate part of town, over the course of seven very late nights,” he says. “It was a very special time and way to discover the Cello Suites as a performing musician, having felt a deep connection to this music since before I can remember.”  

The album is already gathering enthusiastic reviews from the international press. Pizzicato Journal gave it a five-star review, writing, “Across all six suites, Tomás Cotik presents a well thought-out and coherent view of this collection, which is a value in itself. But it does not stop there. Rather, a lively view is conveyed here, in which the listener can remain acoustically engaged without restriction and never tire of listening.”

Watch this video of Tomás Cotik performing the Prélude of Suite No. 1. Videos of his performances from both this album and his other performances can be found on his YouTube channel.