Gramophone Magazine
April 2026
Editor's Choice

Mario Brunello (cello), Mauro Valli

Bach, J S: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005 (Arr. for Two Piccolo Cellos)
Bach, J S: Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 (Arr. for Two Piccolo Cellos)
Bach, J S: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006 (Arr. for Two Piccolo Cellos)

Two violoncelli piccoli—one with four strings, the other with five—combine to create an enriched sound palette for Bach’s polyphonic masterpieces. Taking Gustav Leonhardt’s keyboard transcriptions as a point of departure, Mario Brunello and Mauro Valli add a new sonic dimension to these solo works, making the intricate polyphony audible through a shared nine-string texture. Brunello describes this project not as a mere transcription, but as an "apparition"—a natural phenomenon made visible only under these specific instrumental conditions.

"Even without bow on string, such as in the [Fifth] Suite's Sarabande, Brunello and Valli mysteriously shape melodic contours in pizzicato that somehow seem to resonate not just in plucked vibration but also in empathy and lovesickness; it's divine." — Gramophone Magazine, April 2026