Cello Suite no. 1 in G major (with Alec Santamaria)

Our second guest Alec Santamaria brings his viola to show us how violists can play the Bach cello suites! We delve into tuning for baroque music, perfect pitch, the viola and aspects of its technique when playing Bach, and Alec’s narration of his “moments” from the most famous part of any of the suites -- the G major prelude (and other topics too!).

Alec Santamaria is a violist, violinist, and teacher based in Los Angeles. He is the viola teacher at Renaissance Arts Academy and Wildwood Music Camp, and holds the Richard Rintoul Viola Chair at the American Youth Symphony, where he has played for eight seasons. He received his bachelor’s degree in music performance, with a minor in philosophy, from UCLA. You can watch his full recital of the Bach cello suites 1-4 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UL0P3-lRm4&list=PL2UoptuvHCJGD0MvF7cQUHTVP15oOYELH&index=1 

For a bit more of the interview, check out our bonus episode released shortly after this one.