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I can imagine all kinds of things an interview with Jiri Barta.

Article Excerpt
The cellist Jiri Barta came to wider public attention with his recording of the solo cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach Some years have gone by since then and Barta has become a performer with an impressive stylistic range. His repertoire includes Antonin Dvorak and Gyorgy Ligeti, Richard Strauss and Sofia Gubaidulina. At the opening concert of the Prague Strings of Autumn Festival he also appeared as a member of an unconventional group - a cello quintet. This concert was remarkable in other aspects as well: the stage and lighting were the work of the internationally recognised designer Borek Sipek, otherwise the main architect of Prague Castle, and the music of the live artists was combined with prerecorded sounds from the street or birdsong in the forest.

I interviewed Barta a few days before the concert and pressure of time meant that it took place by e-mail between Prague and Athens.

Your repertoire ranges from J. S. Bach to music by contemporary composers such as Marek Kopelent or Arvo Part. Is it necessary to find different approaches to music when you are studying Bach, Dvorak or Lutoslawski? Do you play Baroque and contemporary music on the same instrument?

I play the music of all periods on the same instrument, and just change the strings. For Baroque I use lighter strings, and...

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