Look no further—the closest thing to a definitive set of these amazing pieces that I have ever heard.
Published on August 03, 2010

BACH: Unaccompanied Cello Suites (Complete) – Winona Zelenka, cello – Marquis 774718150929 (2 CDs), 135:19 *****

Good Lord in heaven, this was a surprise! Winona Zelenka is a Canadian cellist who studied with, among others, Janos Starker at Indiana University, and his influence is felt heavily in these readings. Starker of course recorded these suites five times (go for his third on Mercury, a three-channel SACD recording of great clarity) and evidently taught Zelenka more appropriate historical methods of bowing and sound production, far removed from the Casals model that she first encountered through his recordings as a child. Zelenka has held positions as Acting Principal Cellist of the Toronto Symphony (and if they have any sense at all they will make that position permanent for her!) and Principal Cellist of the Santa Fe Opera.

By Elissa Poole
•Winona Zelenka, cello
•Marquis Classics

Canadian cellist Winona Zelenka gives Bach’s solo cello suites a stylish ease that we don’t often hear on modern cello. Sarabandes sound like graceful dances, not constipated sacred cows, and Zelenka’s modest vibrato and tasteful use of open strings give her access to affects that sometimes get left behind – reflection, say, or melancholy – for more intense ones, especially in slow movements. Fast movements are exciting, but they’re not cliff-hangers. They’re dances, after all. And passion isn’t zealotry, applied like a smear of varnish, but something more fleeting or revelatory. Fans of Yo Yo Ma might not like these recordings, but fans of J. S. Bach will.

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Published Tuesday, June 29, 2010

WHAT THE PRESS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT CELLIST WINONA ZELENKA:

"Their swords were their bows, and their victory was in forgetting about their individual status in their main jobs … and deliver a gorgeous, and intellectually stimulating program…Bérard, Li and Zelenka carved into [Beethoven’s Trio Op. 9, No. 2] with glee, coming up with a full-blooded reading that never rode roughshod over quiet passages."

John Terauds, The Toronto Star, January 2009

(Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat Major, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin)
"Her account of the famous cello prologue and epilogue in the andante movement was ravishing and deserved its special ovation."

Ken Winters, The Globe and Mail, May 2008

(William Tell Overture, conducted by Peter Oundjian)
"Some of the most beautiful singing … came from the cello of Winona Zelenka. Her opening solo in the Rossini was breathtaking – floating with effortless musicality yet free of display or garishness."

Tamara Bernstein, The National Post, October 2004

(William Tell Overture, conducted by Peter Oundjian)
"….a good William Tell Overture - memorable mainly for the superbly played solo in the second part by … Winona Zelenka"