In the first Suite - which the cellist describes as "optimistic" - Casals follows an intense vibration with a strong phrasing and that variety of dynamics which characterizes his whole performance. Fournier is generally softer; his vocalisation is melodious enough without excesses, and sly old fox that he is, he suddenly uses some good tricks that nobody expects, as in the Courante, where though he follows a slower tempo, nevertheless (sacrificing his legato) he uses his bow in an off-hand way and manages to give a more successful dancing character to the Suite than the quicker-tempoed Navarra and Rostropovich. Navarra also has a strong phrasing with very good moments in the Prelude and Allemande. His playing has an intense style, but also a certain haste. Finally, Rostropovich somehow embarrasses us with his choices of dynamics (from very low to medium) but in the Sarabande he is very good indeed in the exemplary way he uses the "Rachmaninov Song"[1]. He is also possesed by a haste, so that in conjuction with lowpitch dynamics, his playing often gives us the impression of a murmur. Here one more thing is worth noticing: during my entire listening to all the Suites it was obvious that all performances paid heightened attention to the Preludes and Sarabandes, without, of course, placing the remaining movements on a lesser footing. Simply, I was lucky to have had the opportunity to listen often to these particular movements in almost universally high-level performances.