Finnish cellist Max Lilja, one of the founders of Apocalyptica, takes us on an immersive journey across Johann Sebastian Bach’s life; by merging the iconic Cello Suites with an ambient composition, Lilja enlightens the space around the solitary voice.

To emphasise the continuous transcendence of life, Lilja builds a solid sense of identity for each suite. The cello is embraced by the sonic world like an individual in the universe. Lilja’s playing has influences from the span of 300 years of existence of the suites, evolving from the simplicity of the First Suite to almost Romantic in the Sixth. His interpretation is inspired by Bach’s rhythmical ideas that expand suite by suite and, as life throughout the years, becomes more complex and multilayered.

After years of pioneering cello artistry in rock and electronic music, as well as composing for various projects, Lilja returns to his classical roots. With Six Shades of Bach, he presents a first-of-a-kind crossover work, contributing to dialogues about the cello suites and the survival of classical music.

Max Lilja makes his Pentatone debut.