An exact chronology of the suites (regarding both the order in which the suites were composed and whether they were composed before or after the solo violin sonatas) cannot be completely established.
However, scholars generally believe that—based on a comparative analysis of the styles of the sets of works—the cello suites arose first, effectively dating the suites earlier than 1720, the year on the title page of Bach's autograph of the violin sonatas.

The suites were not widely known before the 1900s, and for a long time it was generally thought that the pieces were intended to be studies; additionally, while four of the suites are written for a four-stringed instrument in the standard tuning, the fifth suite employs a variant tuning, and the sixth suite was written for an instrument with five strings.
However, after discovering Grützmacher's edition in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain at age 13 (in 1889), Catalan cellist Pablo Casals began studying them.
Although he later performed the works publicly, it was not until 1936, when he was 60 years old, that he agreed to record the pieces, beginning with Suites Nos.
2 and 3, at Abbey Road Studios in London.
The other four were recorded in Paris: 1 and 6 in June 1938, and 4 and 5 in June 1939.
Thus Casals became the first to record all six suites.
Their popularity soared soon after, and Casals' original recording is still widely available and respected today.
In 2019, the Casals recording was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

The suites have since been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists.
Yo-Yo Ma won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance for his album Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites.
János Starker won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance for his fifth recording of Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites.
An exact chronology of the suites (regarding both the order in which the suites were composed and whether they were composed before or after the solo violin sonatas) cannot be completely established. However, scholars generally believe that—based on a comparative analysis of the styles of the sets of works—the cello suites arose first, effectively dating the suites earlier than 1720, the year on the title page of Bach's autograph of the violin sonatas.
The suites were not widely known before the 1900s, and for a long time it was generally thought that the pieces were intended to be studies; additionally, while four of the suites are written for a four-stringed instrument in the standard tuning, the fifth suite employs a variant tuning, and the sixth suite was written for an instrument with five strings. However, after discovering Grützmacher's edition in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain at age 13 (in 1889), Catalan cellist Pablo Casals began studying them. Although he later performed the works publicly, it was not until 1936, when he was 60 years old, that he agreed to record the pieces, beginning with Suites Nos. 2 and 3, at Abbey Road Studios in London. The other four were recorded in Paris: 1 and 6 in June 1938, and 4 and 5 in June 1939. Thus Casals became the first to record all six suites. Their popularity soared soon after, and Casals' original recording is still widely available and respected today. In 2019, the Casals recording was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The suites have since been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists. Yo-Yo Ma won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance for his album Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites. János Starker won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance for his fifth recording of Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites.
Cello Suites (Bach)