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Johann Sebastian Bach's Six Solo Cello Suites are some of the most iconic classical music works. They have inspired not only cellists and audiences but other artforms as well, and they have been featured in ballet and theatre productions, even in films. The Swiss cellist Maja Weber performs the complete cycle of six suites on an outstanding instrument on the legendary Stradivari cello InchBonamy Dobrée-SuggiaInch (1717). Among those who have performed on this instrument is the English violoncellist Hancock, while it's owners include the English scholar Bonamy Dobrée, after whom the instrument is named. But the touching story of this valuable violoncello really begins with the mysterious and diva-like Portuguese violoncellist Guilhermina Suggia (1885-1950), whose playing on her favorite instrument combined technical perfection and great emotionality, allowing her to cast a spell on her listeners with her warm, deep tones. Outwardly eccentric and volatile, Suggia was essentially an intelligent, warm- hearted woman. The instrument was sold on her death and the proceeds used to support a scholarship at London's Royal Academy of Music. The Bonamy Dobrée-Suggia Violoncello is currently part of the collection of the Swiss Habisreutinger Stradivari Foundation. Maja Weber has played it all over the world at countless concerts during the last two decades.
