Explore the grandeur, complexity, and lively harmonies of one of classical music’s most iconic and profound works, Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite. Although Bach’s suites are now considered by many as the most significant works in the solo cello repertoire, they languished in quiet obscurity for over 150 years. In 1890, cello virtuoso Pablo Casals discovered tattered published copies of the suites at a second-hand shop in Barcelona. His appreciation for them grew as he studied them, leading to his seminal audio recordings in 1936, which paved the way for their current fame.

As part of the Festival @ Home series of broadcasts this December-June, Music Director Alasdair Neale will present a pair of Upbeat with Alasdair talks, broadcast from his home. These presentations offer unique musical insight, previews of upcoming performances, and live Q & A with the virtual audience. Tonight’s talk explores the ways classical music both celebrates and illustrates the human condition.

The Festival @ Home series of concert broadcasts kicks-off from The Space at THIS IS RED—the historic St. Michael's Slovakian Roman Catholic church, now turned event space, in Pittsburgh. Enjoy a quintet of Festival Orchestra musicians performing Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor, a piece widely considered the most heartfelt of the great composer’s string quintets.