1 August

** 1764 - birth of Heinrich Gross (Germany)
cellist, member private band of Swedish Count de Geer, member of King’s Band in Berlin and composer

** 1805 - birth of August Christian Prell (Germany) d.1885
cellist, chamber musician of Meiningham, principal cello of Kofkapelle Hannover {son of cellist Johann Nikolaus Prell}

** 1843- birth of Jules de Swert {Deswert} (Louvain, Belgium) d.1891
cellist, orchestra principal cello, composer & teacher

** 1909 - birth of Micki Ovitz (Rozavlea, Romania) d. 1972
cellist & accordionist {Nazi Holocaust victim}

** 1965 - Mstislav Rostropovich performed Britten’s ‘Cello Symphony’ at the Royal Festival Hall, London, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky…as an encore Rostropovich repeated the last movement (Passacaglia), but with Benjamin Britten coming onto the podium to conduct it!

** 1979 - Erling Blöndal Bengtsson was cello soloist in Vagn Holmboe - Concerto for Cello, Op 120 {UK premiere}, with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Berglund {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1983 - Colin Carr was cello soloist in Benjamin Britten - Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 {Proms premiere}, with Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1984 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Zoltán Kodály - Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, featuring the cellist Siegfried Palm, with Leland Chen, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1986 - cellist Lluis Claret, together with his twin brother and the famed flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal shared stage in the Torroella Festival (Catalonia)

** 1999 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Alexander Borodin - Three Songs with Cello Obbligato, featuring the cellist Marcy Rosen, with Stephanie Houtzeel, Mezzo-Soprano and Jonathan Biss, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

2 August

** 1846 - birth (*) of Eliza Try (Cambrai, France) d.1922
important French woman cellist // (*)according to other sources 1847 or 1848

** 1900 - birth of Gertrud Hindemith {nee Rottenberg} (Franfurt, Germany) d. 1967
cellist {wife of the famous composer!}

** 1916 - Dutch cellist Philip Abas, settled in the UK, gave his last concert in England on this day before permanently emigrating to the United States (the performance was at the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, England)

** 1919 - on this day young New Zealand cellist Harold Beck gave a recital at the London ‘Opera House’, with piano accompanist Gordon McBeth, and extra vocal items from Madame Emily Briggs. The Wanganui Chronicle (New Zealand) reported the day before the concert:
“Harold Beck - N.Z.’s Gifted ‘Cellist….There is every evidence of a very large attendance, the highly eulogistic notices from the press in other centres having created a general interest in the merits of the clever young ‘cellist of whom Wanganui may be proud”.

** 1923 - birth of Don {Donald Richard} Whitton (London, Ontario, Canada) d.2018
cellist, recording musician, classical-jazz-rock fields, viola de gamba & teacher

** 1934 - birth of Josef Luitz (Vienna)
cellist, orchestra principal cello, cello teacher & co-founder of the international chamber music festival ‘Allegro Vivo’  

** 1989 - Raphael Wallfisch was cello soloist in William Walton - Cello Concerto, with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edward Downes {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

3 August

** 1829 - premiere of Rossini - Opera ‘William Tell’ {the opening section of the overture features important writing for 5 solo cellos}
(Salle Le Peletier, Paris)

** 1890 - a notable historical concert on this day: Joseph Joachim, Louis Ries, Ludwig Straus, Alfredo Piatti on cello, Reginald Groome, Caroline Geisler-Schubert and Mary Carmichael in “Saturday Popular Concerts” (James's Hall , London)

** 1948 - birth of Antony Cooke (Sydney, Australia)
cellist, recording artist, university professor, composer, and author of published books and articles on musicology and astronomy {based U.S.A.}

** 1957 - Pau Casals and Marta Montañez {Marta Casals Istomin, nee Marta Montañez} marry in San Juan, Puerto Rico

** 1958 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Kodaly - Solo Cello Sonata, Op.8, at the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria

** 1967 - Joan Dickson was cello soloist in William Walton - Cello Concerto, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1976 - Ralph Kirshbaum was cello soloist, along with György Pauk/violin, in Roger Sessions - Concerto for Violin and Cello {Proms premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1985 - birth of Brent Michael Kutzle (Newport Beach, California, USA) cellist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer & film composer

4 August

** 1756 - Luigi Boccherini, thirteen years old, makes his official debut, performing a cello concerto of his own writing
(Lucca, Italy)

** 1764 - Luigi Boccherini performs for the first time in his new position of cellist for the town of Lucca (a Vespers service in the Chapel)

** 1952 - birth of Tadeusz Wojciechowski (Warsaw)
cellist , chamber musician and conductor

** 1966 - Denis Vigay was cello soloist in Gordon Crosse - Ceremony, Op 19 {World premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

5 August

** 1694 - birth of Leonardo {Ortensio Salvatore de} Leo (San Vito dei Normanni,Italy) d.1744 
cellist, organist & composer

** 1775 - birth of Joseph Moralt (Mannheim, Germany) d.1855
cellist, member of the court Chapel of Munich

** 1797 - birth of Friedrich Auguste Kummer (Meiningen, Germany) d.1879
cellist, orchestra principal cello, oboist, composer & pedagogue

** 1913 - David Popper receives notification from the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire of the award of the title of Court Councillor (‘Hofrat’) in recognition of his services to the State (but sadly Popper died just two days later)

** 1961 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Robert Starer - Sonata for Four Celli, featuring the cellists David Soyer, Lorin Bernsohn, Toshio Kuronuma, and Robert Martin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1974 - Peter Racine Fricker completes his Courante for solo cello (F149)

** 1975 - birth of Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen  (Vantaa Hakunila, Finland)
rock cellist (founder ‘Apocalyptica’), songwriter, arranger & drummer

** 1993 - Sophie Rolland was cello soloist in Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins {Prom Concert at 19.00h, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1993 - Rocco Filippini was cello soloist in Luigi Boccherini - Cello Concerto in B flat major {Proms premiere of original version}, with I Virtuosi di Roma conducted by Angelo Stefanato-violin/director {Prom Concert at 22.00h, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1995 - birth of Devo Keenan (USA)
cellist

6 August

** 1868 - Victor Mirecki Larramat receives the ‘premio de honor’ of the Paris Conservatoire.

** 1946 - birth of Janet Monteith “Jan” Gilbert (New York City)
composer, cellist, electronic music specialist and professor of music

** 1972 - Brazilian born cellist Santiago Carvalho joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra on this day in 1972; and with more than 40 years uninterrupted service to the orchestra he has been one of the most important musicians of the orchestra’s history. This has been recognized with the prestigious award of the title of ‘Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Blanco’ (alongside such greats as Aryton Senna and football legends Pelé and Cafu!)

** 1975 - Thomas Igloi was cello soloist in Arnold Cooke - Cello Concerto {World premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Groves {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1991 - Robert Cohen was cello soloist in Benjamin Britten - Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op 68, with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1999 - Heinrich Schiff was cello soloist in Friedrich Cerha - Concerto for Cello {UK premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

7 August

** 1921 -birth of Karel Husa (Prague) d.2016 {based U.S.A.}
violinist, conductor & composer, but hugely interested in the cello! Indeed he won the 1993 Grawenmeyer Award for his Cello Concerto, written for Lynn Harrell

** 1983 - first performance of Wolfgang Rihm - Zweiter Doppelgesang for clarinet, cello and orchestra
(Hitzacker, Germany)

** 1990 - Heinrich Schiff was cello soloist in Dmitry Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat major, with Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1978 - Dragan ‘Suzuki’ Djordjevic (Ćuprija, Serbia)
Serbian cellist, principal cellist with the Symphony Orchestra of RTV Slovenia and a professor of cello at the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade.

8 August

** 1795 - birth of Peter Batta (Maastricht, Holland) d.1876
cellist, professor of cello at Brussels Conservatoire

** 1869 - on this day cellist Graf performed Molique - Cello Concerto, with the orchestra of Sondhausen, probably conducted by Max Bruch

** 1871 - birth of William Henry Squire (Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England) d.1963
cellist, principal violoncello at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden, composer and pedagogue, one of early founders of the Performing Rights Society of Great Britain, professor at Royal College of Music (London).

** 1919 - by 8th August the manuscript score of the new Elgar - Cello Concerto was ready and Lady Elgar took this Op.85 in person to Fittleworth post office to send it to Novellos along with the final proofs of the Quintet.

** 1924 - birth of Christopher Bunting (London) d.2005
cellist, composer and pedagogue

** 1935 - on this day Enescu completes the first movement to his second Cello Sonata in Bucharest (he probably initially started the work in June of that year)

** 1979 - birth of Richard Harwood (Great Britain)
cellist, orchestra principal cello

** 1988 - ‘Ballata and Ballabile’, Op 160, for solo cello and orchestra, by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) received its world premiere in its intended orchestral form when Raphael Wallfisch was soloist with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Lionel Friend in 1988 at the BBC Northern Ireland studios in Belfast
(however, it had been performed by Beatrice Harrison and Hamilton Harty in Stanford’s cello & piano arrangement in 1919 at the Wigmore Hall, London)

9 August

** 1875 - birth of Albert William Ketèlbey (Birmingham, England) d.1959
composer & multi-instrumentalist with special affection for the cello!

** 1915 - on August 9, the orchestra of the Unión Central Theater (Chile) under the conductorship of Italian cellist/composer Giarda premiered the Cello Concerto by P.H. Allende; the soloist was Michael Penha.  The last scenes of the first act of Wagner's Parsifal were also heard, as was the ‘Symphony In the Forest’, by Joachim Raff

** 1950 - John Shinebourne was cello soloist in Robert Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1967 - Pierre Fournier performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with theBBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Pritchard

** 1968 - Vladimir Orloff performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with the Hallé Orchestra, conducted by John Barbirolli

** 1983 - first performance of Ernst Krenek - Cello Concerto No.2 
(Salzburg)

10 August

** 1829 - birth of George Calkin (London)
cellist, member of the Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Italian Opera Orchestra; singing teacher, conductor, and composer of organ pieces

** 1876 - birth of Angelo Peracchio (Turin, Italy)
cellist, member Royal Theatre Orchestra of Turin, principal cello of Theatre Bellacourt at Lyons, professor of cello and chamber music at Conservatoire of St. Etienne (France); arranger of pieces for cello

** 1947 - first complete performance of Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras no.5 for soprano and eight cellos
(Paris)

** 1949 - Paul Tortelier was cello soloist in Richard Strauss - Don Quijote, Op 35, with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1998 - David Geringas was cello soloist in Sofia Gubaidulina - Und: Das Fest Ist In Vollem Gang {UK premiere}, with BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Tadaaki Otaka {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

11 August

** 1835 - birth of Alessandro Pezze (Milan, Italy) d.1914
cellist, orchestra and opera principal cello & professor {based Italy-England}

** 1872 - birth of Paul Ludwig (Bonn, Germany)
cellist, regular appearances at the Saturday and Monday Popular Concerts (St. James’s Hall, London), examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music.

** 1917 - birth of Samuel H. Mayes (St. Louis, Missouri, USA) d.1990
cellist, orchestra principal cello & professor

12 August

** 1762 - birth of George IV, King of United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland d.1830
Royalty…and an amateur cellist!

** 1766 - birth of Joachim Joseph Fuetsch (Salzburg, Austra)
choirboy at Salzburg Cathedral, cellist, member of Court Orchestra Salzburg and composer

** 1908 - cellist Jean Marcel made a successful debut at the Queen’s Hall ‘Proms Concerts’ on this day in 1908.

** 1959 - Andre Navarra performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with theBBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Hollingsworth

** 1962 - on this day cellist Enrico Mainardi made a live recording, in Lucerne, with violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan, of Brahms - Double Concerto in A minor, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Karl Böhm

** 1992 - Steven Isserlis was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto No 1 in C major, with Australian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Richard Hickox {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

13 August

** 1813 - birth of Carl (or Karl) Schlesinger (Germany) d.1871
cellist, orchestra principal cello, originally a violinist

** 1828 - On the conclusion of his studies, cellist Carl Leopold Boehm received a certificate from the committee of the National Conservatoire of Vienna on this day in 1828, stating that he had just claims to the name of an ‘excellent artist’.

** 1904 - Jacques Renard was cello soloist in the first English performance of Van Goens - Cello Concerto No.2 in D minor, at a London Proms concert. The programme also featured Miss Edith Kirkwood and Mr John Harrison (vocal), and Mr Walter Reynolds (euphonium), and included the first English performance of S. Vasilenko [Wassilenko] - Poème Epique Op. 4.

** 1915 - birth of Bernard Michelin (Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, Val-de-Marne, France) d.2003
Cellist, soloist, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, founder of "International Competition Bernard Michelin" (Chile, 1965); Knight of the Legion of Honour (France, 1979)

** 1916 - first performance of Oswald - Sonata-Fantasia in Eb Major, Op.44
Alfredo Gomes/cello and Joaquim Antonio Barrozo Netto/piano (Rio de Janeiro, Salão do Jornal de Comércio)

** 1959 - Erling Blöndal Bengtsson was cello soloist in both Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto in D major, Hob. VIIb:2 and Richard Strauss - Don Quixote, Op 35, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

14 August

** 1844 - Jacques Offenbach’s wedding took place on 14 August 1844; he was 25 years old and was working as a professional cellist, and the bride was 17 years old. There was an obstacle to his marriage to Hérminie - the difference in their professed religions. So he converted to Roman Catholicism, with the comtesse de Vaux acting as his sponsor. His father Isaac Offenbach's views on his son's conversion from Judaism are unknown!

** 1872 - birth of Zygmunt Butkiewicz (Lida Uezd, Poland) d.1935
cellist, chamber musician & pedagogue

** 1873 - birth of Adolph Schiffer (Prague) d.1950
cellist, member of Budapest String Quartet & pedagogue(professor Budapest conservatoire)

** 1923 - Arnold Trowell was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto in D major, Hob. VIIb: 2 (arr. Arnold Trowell), with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1947 - Ambrose Gauntlett was cello soloist, along with Paul Beard/violin, Edward Selwyn/oboe and Richard Newton/bassoon in Joseph Haydn - Sinfonia Concertante in B flat Major, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1953 - birth of {Dr.} Darilyn Dee Manring (U.S.A.) d.2019
cellist, orchestral principal cello & teacher

** 1965 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Beethoven - Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56, , featuring the cellist Leslie Parnas, alongside Jaime Laredo, Violin and Rudolf Serkin, Piano, with The Marlboro Orchestra
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1967 - Alan Dalziel was cello soloist, along with Trevor Williams and Jeffrey Wakefield/violins, in Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for Two Violins and Cello in D minor, RV 565, Op 3.11 {Proms premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mario Rossi {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1968 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Kodály - Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, featuring the cellist Ronald Leonard, Cello, with Norma Auzin, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1972 - Siegfried Palm was cello soloist in Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Canto di speranza for cello and small orchestra {UK premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

15 August

** 1738 - Francesco Alborea, known under the name "Franciscello", returned to Paris in the summer of 1738 to participate in the Spirituel Concert on August 15th and September 8th, where he impressed his audience with his "great precision", according to the local press.

** 1778 - ‘debut’ concert of cellist Jean-Baptiste Breval (Paris)

** 1797 - On August 15th, 1797, an  advertisement appeared in the Madrid Gazette in which composer Pablo Vidal sells his own cello method called "Art, rudiments and harmonic school for learning to play the cello with perfection and ease according to the modern style ”.

** 1967 - Jacqueline Du Pre was cello soloist in Robert Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

16 August

** 1843 - birth of Stanislaus Thalgrün (Warsaw)
cellist, principal cello of theatre orchestra of Warsaw

** 1867 - birth of Albrecht Löffler (Tilset, Germany)
cellist, member of Krasselt Quartet, member of Waldemar Meyer Quartet in Berlin

** 1899 - first performance of de Falla - Melodía for cello and piano
Salvador Viniegra/ cello (to whom the piece is dedicated) and the composer on piano (Salón Quirell, Cádiz, Spain) 

** 1904 - Jacques Renard was cello soloist in Camille Saint‐Saëns - Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1908 - birth of Orlando Cole (Philadelphia, USA) d.2010
cellist & pedagogue

** 1910 - Jacques Renard was cello soloist in Richard Strauss - Don Quixote, Op 35, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1918 - Thelma Yellin (née Bentwich) was cello soloist, along with Margery Bentwich/violin, in Johannes Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1938 - Raya Garbousova was cello soloist in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op 33, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1962 - Rohan de Saram was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto in D major, Hob. VIIb:2- {cadenzas by Pablo Casals & Gaspar Cassadó}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1978 - first performance of Noam Sheriff - Tre'y-Assar, for 12 Cellos
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Jerusalem, Israel)

** 1983 - first performance of FeBland - Elegy for solo cello
soloist - David Johnstone (Southwark Cathedral, London)

17 August

** 1748 - birth of Johann Jäger (Schlitz, Germany)
cellist, oboist, french horn player, court ‘chamber soloist’

** 1784 - Luigi Boccherini renews his contract with Infante Don Luis of Spain, with an additional 12,000 reals
(however, it was not to be a happy time for the composer; the Infante dies within as year, as also did Boccherini’s wife)

** 1844 - birth of Francis Bennat (Bregenz, Germany)
cellist, member Royal Chapel of Munich (later ‘chamber virtuoso’ there), chamber musician

** 1942 - birth of Stephen Geber (Los Angeles, California, USA)
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & professor

** 1944 - in a concert at the National Gallery of London, Vivian Joseph (cello) and Gerald Moore (piano) gave a joint recital

** 1948 - birth of Alexander Ivashkin (Russia) d.2014
cellist, writer, academic & conductor

** 1949 - Anthony Pini was cello soloist in Antonin Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1959 - Amaryllis Fleming was cello soloist in Mátyás Seiber - Tre Pezzi {London premiere}, with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1977 - birth of Tatjana Vassiljeva (Novosibirsk, Russia)
cellist, soloist & chamber music player

** 1993 - first performance of Edward Cowie - Cello Concerto 
(Brisbane, Australia)

18 August

** 1851 - birth of Valborg Lagervall {alternative spellings: Valborg, Walborg, Lagerwall}  Österhaninge near Stockholm (Sweden) d.1940
cellist and pianist. From November 1884, Valborg Lagervall was accepted as a permanent cellist in the orchestra of the Kungliga Teatern (Royal Theatre) Stockholm and should be regarded as one of the first cellists ever - or even the first?! - to find full-time employment in a professional orchestra outside of specifically women's orchestras

** 1879 - composer/conductor Arthur Sullivan tended to mix the popular and the unusual when he was conducting in the Covent Garden Promenade Concert Programmes - on this day he programmed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, Auber’s overture ‘Marco Spada’ and a ‘Cello Concerto’ (which one?  who played it?!) by Goltermann

** 1928 - Beatrice Harrison was cello soloist in Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1937 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date by soloists Eda Kersey & Thelma Reiss at the London Proms

** 1948 - Pierre Fournier was cello soloist in Antonin Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, with London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1948 - at the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth (England) the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, conducted by Rudolf Schwarz, featured cello soloist Florence Hooton in the first of two consecutive concerts.

** 1966 - Natalie Shakhovskaya was cello soloist in Dmitry Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat major, with Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1968 - Daniel Barenboim (piano) and Jacqueline du Pré (cello) finish recording the two Brahms - Cello Sonatas
(Abbey Road, London)

** 1969 - Release date (premiere screened in New York City, U.S.A.) of the film “Take the Money and Run”
directed by Woody Allen, starring Woody Allen, Janet Margolin and Louise Lasser
Take the Money and Run is a 1969 American ‘mockumentary’ comedy film. the film chronicles the life of Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen), an inept bank robber. He is a ‘notorious criminal mastermind’ who tries to learn how to play the cello. It is abominable. Excruciating - he even tosses the cello out the window! He joins a marching band but he can hardly keep up because he has to drag a chair along. A street gang puts the cello out of its misery! 

** 1972 - birth of Leonardo Sapere (Buenos Aires)
Italian-Argentine cellist, principal cello of “I Virtuosi Italiani”, chamber musician, also specializes in Jazz, Experimental music & Ethnic music - founder of the improvisation trio Giubileos

19 August

** 1686 - birth of Antonio Tonello {alternative name Antonio De’Pietri} (Carpi, Italy)
cellist, viola d’amour, organist and teacher

** 1813 - birth of Karl Schlesinger (Germany) d.1871
cellist, orchestra & opera principal cello, chamber musician & professor {based Hungary-Austria}

** 1824 - birth of Georg Goltermann (Hannover, Germany) d.1898
cellist, composer and pedagogue

** 1881 - birth of George Enescu (Liveni - Varnav, Botoșani, Rumania) d.1955
composer, violinist, pianist, conductor … and cellist! At the age of about twelve, while studying at the Vienna Conservatoire, he also learned the cello, and indeed even played the cello in string quartet evenings for fun!

** 1889 - first performance of Jean Sibelius - Tempo di valse [Lulu Waltz] for cello and piano 
(Loviisa, Finland)

** 1922 - Charles Warwick-Evans was cello soloist in Max Bruch - Kol nidrei, Op 47, with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1928 - birth of Peter Steiner (Berlin) d.2003
cellist, orchestra cello (Berlin Phil Orch) - member of ‘The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic’ 

** 1946 - Soloists Frederick Grinke/violin and Douglas Cameron/cello performed Brahms Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor at the London Proms in the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Basil Cameron

** 1948 - at the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth (England) the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, conducted by Rudolf Schwarz, featured cello soloist Florence Hooton in the second of two consecutive concerts.

** 1954 - Edmund Kurtz was cello soloist in Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1970 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Bohuslav Martinů - Duo for Violin and Cello (not specified which one of the two), featuring the cellist Henri Honegger, with  Pierre Menard, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

20 August

** 1868 - birth of Luigo Forino (Rome) d.1936
cellist; he edited Boccherini's sonatas and wrote a history of the cello and cellists; professor of harmony and counterpoint at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires, returning to Italy as professor at Rome's Academia Santa Cecilia.

** 1899 - a Casals private recital for Queen Victoria of Great Britain 
Osborne House, Isle of Wight

** 1915 - Charles Warwick-Evans was cello soloist, along with Arthur Beckwith/violin, in Johannes Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1948 - James Whitehead was cello soloist, along with Leonard Hirsch/violin and Harry Isaacs/piano in Beethoven - Concerto for violin, cello and piano in C major, 'Triple Concerto', with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1989 - birth of Patricia Cimpoiasu (Buzau, Romania)
cellist of Amadeus Quartet

21 August

** 1698 - birth of Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri, del Gesù (Cremona, Italy) d.1744
expert luthier of string instruments {known as Guarneri del Gesù}

** 1812 - birth of Julius Schapler (Grandenz, Germany)
cellist, orchestra principal cello, opera principal cello, and composer

** 1895 - birth of Camillo Oblach (Padua, Italy) d.1954
cellist

** 1909 - Jacques Renard was cello soloist in Eugen Albert - Concerto for Cello in C Major, Op 20, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1936 - Florence Hooton was cello soloist, along with Frederick Grinke/violin and Dorothy Manley/piano (The Grinke Trio), in Paul Juon - Episodes concertantes, Op 45, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1940 -  the “Paris-Soir” (n° 61, 6th edition, 08/21/1940”) reported that Adele Clement, the French cellist, was giving concerts in China and Japan, maybe even in Hanoi as the details on her suitcase suggested. This would appear to be very dangerous given the raging world war, but it is known that she knew that part of the world; she had previously toured there in 1924, and probably on other occasions as well….
This is the very last mention of her made in the press, a formerly most important French cellist who tended to attract attention in her younger career, although she was to live to the late 1950s.…

** 1957 - Erling Blöndal Bengtsson was cello soloist in William Walton - Cello Concerto {Proms premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1989 - birth of Cremaine Booker {aka ‘That Cello Guy’} (Texas, U.S.A.)
cellist, social media artist, orchestra principal cello

22 August
** 1804 - on this day Bernard Bénazet (born in 1871) gained the first prize for cello at the Paris conservatoire, whilst a student of Bernhard Romberg. He later became principal cello of the Théâtre Italien during many years.

** 1840 - birth of Andreas Guarneri (Pieve d’Olmi, Cremona, Italy) d.1899
cellist, teacher at the Musical Institure of Genoa, conductor of the municipal band of Genoa & composer (but no works for cello)

** 1911 - Jacques Renard was cello soloist in Eugen d'Albert - Cello Concerto in C Major, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1923 - birth of Lawrence Leonard d.2001
conductor, cellist,composer, teacher and writer {based Canada-England}

** 1946 - Daniil Shafran (Cello) and Nina Musinian (Piano) record Romance for Double Bass and Piano (1943) in version for cello, by Nikolai P. Rakov

** 1956 - Frederick Riddle (viola) and John Kennedy (cello) were soloists with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Beecham, in the Edinburgh Festival. [Strauss - Don Quixote ?]

** 1971 - birth of Richard {Crispin} Armitage (Huncote, England)
film/television/theatre/voice actor & adolescent cellist

** 1980 - first performance of Michael Tippet - Triple Concerto for Solo Violin, Viola, Cello and Orchestra
soloists - György Pauk, Nobuko Imai, Ralph Kirshbaum with London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Colin Davis (London)

23 August

** 1867 - birth of Alexei Augustovich Davidov (Moscow) d.1940
cellist & composer, and also banker, industrialist and businessman - his uncle Karl Davidov was the famous cello virtuoso and composer

** 1904 - Herbert Withers was cello soloist in Eugen Albert - Concerto for Cello in C Major, Op 20 {Proms premiere}, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1907 - birth of Ludwig Hoelscher (Solingen, Germany) d. 1996
cellist

** 1925 - birth of Sulkhan Fyodorovich Tsintsadze (Gori, Transcaucasian SSR, Soviet Union) d.1991

** 1932 - Lionel Tertis was the VIOLA soloist in Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor (arr. Viola & orchestra by the same Lionel Tertis), with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood
{this was the Proms premiere of this arrangement, and probably almost the first time worldwide featuring viola!] {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1933 - Antoni Sala was cello soloist, along with Isolde Menges/violin, in Johannes Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1934 - Beatrice Harrison was cello soloist, along with her sister May Harrison, in Frederick Delius - Concerto for Violin and Cello, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1935 - Florence Hooton was cello soloist, along with Frederick Grinke/violin and Dorothy Manley/piano (The Grinke Trio), in Ludwig van Beethoven - Concerto for cello, cello and piano in C major, 'Triple Concerto', with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1957 - birth of Antonio Menesis (Recife, Brasil)
cellist

** 1959 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Walton - Cello Concerto, in Edinburgh, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer!

** 1989 - Truls Mork performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms (also in 1996)
with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Marris Jansons

** 1925 - birth of Sulkhan Fyodorovich Tsintsadze (Gori, Transcaucasian SSR, Soviet Union) d.1991
composer & cellist

** 1999 - live recording of Carmelo A. Alonso Bernaola - Tiempos: Música para un centenario: Casals, for Spanish National Radio, by José Mará Mañero/cello and Gerardo López Laguna/piano
Sala de Kursaal, San Sebastian, Basque Country

24 August

** 1846 - premiere of Suppé - Operetta ‘Poet and Peasant’ {the overture features an important orchestral principal cello line}
conducted by the composer (Theater an der Wien, Vienna)

** 1879 - birth of Gérard Hekking (Nancy, France) d. 1942 
cellist, orchestra principal cello

** 1949 - on this day cellist Enrico Mainardi made a live recording, in Lucerne, with violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan, of Brahms - Double Concerto in A minor, with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Fürtwangler

** 1950 - Pierre Fournier was cello soloist in a performance at the Edinburgh International Festival, conducted by Thomas Beecham 

** 1955 - André Navarra was cello soloist in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1990 - first performance of John Tavener - Thrinos for cello
(Edinburgh)

** 1994 - Anner Bylsma was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto No 1 in C major, with Freiburg Baroque Orchestra conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock-violin/director {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1997 - Natalie Clein was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto No 1 in C major, with National Youth Chamber Orchestra of Great Britain conducted by Sir Roger Norrington {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

25 August

** 1843 - first performance of Piatti - Capriccio Op.22 on the aria “I tuoi frequenti palpiti” for solo cello (the only existent capriccio per violoncello solo composed by Alfredo Piatti apart from the famous Dodici Capricci of op. 25)     
soloist - Alfredo Piatti 

** 1904 - Jacques Renard was cello soloist in Jules de Swert - Cello Concerto No. 1 in D minor, with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1907 - birth of Alexander Molzahn (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
cellist and university professor

** 1953 - Amaryllis Fleming performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms (also in 1972)
with theHallé Orchestra, conducted by John Barbirolli)

** 1954 - birth of Șerban Nichifor (Bucharest)
cellist, composer & music educator

** 1964 - Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was cello soloist in Richard Strauss - Don Quixote, Op 35, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1966 - Christopher Bunting was cello soloist in Alan Rawsthorne - Cello Concerto {Proms premiere}, with Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1980 - Julian Lloyd Webber was cello soloist in Frederick Delius - Cello Concerto {Proms premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1987 - birth of Luka Šulić (Maribor, Slovenia)
cellist

** 1995 - Heinrich Schiff was cello soloist in Paul Hindemith - Cello Concerto {Proms premiere}, with Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

26 August

** 1794 - the English cellist Sir Charles Rich - an amateur but recognized of a very fine standard - received the visit of Joseph Haydn to his house in thecounty of Surrey; he acted as guide to the composer around the ruins to Waverley Abbey, which deeply impressed Haydn (according to the notes in his diary)!

** 1846 - premiere of Mendelssohn - Oratorio ‘Elijah’ (movement 26; the aria ‘It is Enough’ features an important orchestral principal cello line}
(Birmingham Town Hall - sung in English language version)

** 1872 - birth of Ludwig Lebell (Vienna)
cellist, soloist, teacher and composer

** 1899 - Paul Bazelaire was cello soloist in Camille Saint‐Saëns - Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor {UK premiere}, with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1927 - birth of Edward (Russell) Bisha (Louisville, USA) d. 1991 
cellist, orchestra principal cello & teacher

** 1936  - Lauri Kennedy was cello soloist, along with Albert Sammons/violin, in Johannes Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1949 - Guilherminia Suggia, by 1949, was giving some of her last public performances, and although nearly 65 she was still in great form! This was part of the glowing review in the Glasgow Herald:
“The violoncello concert given by Guilhermina Suggia in the Freemasons’ Hall last night provided an evening of unmixed enjoyment. Technically she has no superior, and since she last appeared in this country her artistry has matured to a point from which one cannot imagine any further advancement. Suggia’s greatest asset as a performer is her capacity for identifying herself with everything she plays. To each work, of whatever period or mood, she brings an enthusiasm which charges her every phrase with vitality. Her tone is unequalled in its purity, and no demands of virtuosity are too great for her. This is perfection in ’cello playing and before such art criticism must be silent.”

** 1956 - Peter Racine Fricker completes his Cello Sonata, Op.28
(BBC anniversary commission, for Sir William Walton)

** 1969 - Zara Nelsova was cello soloist in Hugh Wood - Cello Concerto {World premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1970 - Joan Dickson performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms (also in 1973)
with theBBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Pritchard

** 1980 - first performance of Cesat Bresgen - Elegie, for 12 Cellos
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Salzburg Festival, Salzburg, Austria)

** 1982 - first performance of Lutoslawski - Grave      
soloist Mischa Maisky with Polska Orkiestra Kameraina, conducted by Jerzy Maksmiuk (Festival Estival de Paris)

** 1991 - Radu Aldelescu /cello and Albert Guttman /piano made a live recording for Spanish National Radio of Gaspar Cassadó - Sonata nello stile antico spagnuolo for Cello and Piano (1925) [they also performed Cassadó - Sérénade, Requiebros, and Lamento de Boabdil]
Colegiata deSanta Juliana, Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain

** 1994 - birth of Anastasia Kobekina (Yekaterinburg, Urals, Russia)
cellist, chamber musician

27 August

** 1860 - probable German premiere of Wilhelm Bernhardt Molique - Cello concerto 
(Baden-Baden, Germany)

** 1907 - Jean Schwiller was cello soloist in Édouard Lalo - Cello Concerto in D minor, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1929 - Charles Alfred Crabbe - cello, along with other members of the orchestra, were soloists in Joseph Haydn - Sinfonia Concertante in B flat Major, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1943 - birth of Leo Viola  (Córdoba, Argentina) d.2018
cellist, principal cello of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, Argentina. Head Professor of cello and in the management team of the Conservatorio de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires "Manuel de Falla". Composer and orchestral conductor, and a promoter of avant-garde music.

** 1945 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date by soloists Marie Wilson & Ellen Croxford at the London Proms

** 1950 - in a concert of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (the location not clear) the invited soloists were Lady Beecham (piano) and Anthony Pini (cello), the orchestra conducted by Thomas Beecham

** 1991 - first performance of Sofia Gubaidulina - Aus dem Stundenbuch for cello and orchestra, chorus and speaker
(Helsinki)

** 1995 - José María Mañero/cello and Gerardo López Laguna/piano performed Carlos Villasol - ‘Un no sé qué que se halla por ventura’ para cello and piano, in a concert recorded by Spanish National Radio
Museo del Telmo, San Sebastian, Basque Country

28 August

** 1687 - on this day the governors of the Capella del Tesoro di San Gennaro (Italy) appointed cellist Rocco Greco to replace Paolo Antonio d’Oria (nickname ‘Sessa’) as primer viola (=cello) specifying that Greco was the best cellist around those parts at that time! He served until 1717, when illness overcame him…

** 1761 - Luigi Boccherini, eighteen years old, formally petitions the town of Lucca for a position as cello player; however, they will not decide for two-and-a-half years!

** 1852 - birth of Johannes Klingenberg (Görlitz, Silesia) d.1905
cellist, member of Ducal Chapel of Brunswick, viola da gamba player and investigator for the instrument, music editor

** 1875 - birth of Heinz Beyer (Berlin)
cellist, member of the Royal Chapel in Berlin, member of permanent trio with Otto Hegner and Boris Sibor

** 1897 - William Henry Squire was cello soloist in William Henry Squire - Serenade, with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert - ‘First Night of the Proms’, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1906 - WP Southworth was cello soloist in Édouard Lalo - Cello Concerto in D minor, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1920 - Charles Warwick-Evans was cello soloist in Léon Boëllmann - Variations symphoniques, Op 23, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}. The performance included the first performance of Georges Dorlay - Mirage (Valse Intermezzo), conducted by the composer himself.

** 1928 - Arnold Trowell was cello soloist in Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Concerto for Cello in D Major (arr. Arnold Trowell, Proms premiere), with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1930 - Beatrice Harrison was cello soloist, along with her sister May Harrison, in Frederick Delius - Concerto for Violin and Cello, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1934 - Antonia Butler was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto No 2 in D major, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1962 - an amazing cello ensemble performance of Villa-Lobos works from the International Edinburgh Festival in the Usher Hall, broadcast on BBC Television. The Bachianas Brasileiras numbers 1 and 5 were programmed with invited soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. The featured cellists were:
Mstislav Rostropovich, Kenneth Heath, Jack Long, Gethyn Wykeham-George, Hilary Roninson, Kenneth Law, Peter Willison and Peter Muscant

** 1969 - first performance of Hugh Wood - Cello Concerto 
(London)

** 1969 - Zara Nelsova performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms (also in 1971 and 1979)
with theBBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Charles Grove

** 1973 - in the Marmorsaal des Schlosses Mirabell, Salzburg, a recital was given by Thomas Igloi (cello) and Heinz Medjimorec (piano) as part of IV. Salzburger Preisträger-Woche.

** 1976 - first performance of Gerhard Wimberger - Plays, for 12 Celli soli, winds and percussion.
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Salzburg, Austria)

** 1994 - first performance of Peter Sculthorpe - Chorale for eight cellos
(Vale of Glamorgan Festival, Cardiff, Wales)

29 August
** 1865 - birth of Dr. Heinrich Pudor (Dresden, Germany)
cellist, manager of the Dresden conservatoire (previously owned by his father); later based in Edinburgh. Composer of some cello pieces

** 1866 - birth of Bruno Steindl (Zwickau, Germany) d.1949 
cellist, orchestra principal cello {based USA}

** 1901 - birth of Joseph Klonowski (Berlin) d.1967
cellist, orchestra principal cello,  bandmaster  & entomologist {based Poland}

** 1907 - J. Samehtini was cello soloist in Victor Herbert - Suite, Op 3 / Wilhelm Bernhard Molique - Concerto for Cello in D major, Op 45 No. 2 Andante / David Popper - 2 Concert Etudes, Op 55 No. 1 Spinnleid, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1908 - birth of Orestes ‘Macho’ López (Havana, Cuba) d.1991
cellist, orchestral musician, also played double-bass, flute and piano. Composer of popular instrumental music

** 1917 - Charles Warwick-Evans was cello soloist in Antonin Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1925 - Arnold Trowell was cello soloist in Luigi Boccherini - Cello Concerto in B flat major (Proms premiere of Gritzmacher version?), with The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1929 - Beatrice Harrison was cello soloist in Frederick Delius - Cello Concerto (Proms premiere), with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1931 - Lauri Kennedy was cello soloist in Léon Boëllmann - Variations symphoniques, Op 23, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1942 - on this day the great cellist Gregor Piatigorsky took the oath of allegiance to the United States of America, in the legendary town of Elizabethtown, New

** 1948 - birth of Boris Pergamenschikow (Leningrad/St. Petersburg, Russia) d.2004
cellist

** 1949 - Zara Nelsova was cello soloist, along with Jean Pougnet/violin, in Johannes Brahms Double Concerto for violin  and cello in A minor, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

30 August

** 1783 - birth of Frederik Christian Funck (Denmark) d.1866
cellist, orchestra principal cello & composer

** 1870 - birth of Heinrich Warnke (Wesselburen, Germany) d.1938
cellist, orchestra principal cello and occasional composer {based Germany & USA}

** 1898 - young cellist Leontine Gärtner had travelled to the USA in 1896 at the age of 22 to make her career, and on this day received a warming review from the Lewiston Evening Journal:
“she speedly achieved a splendid reputation which time has only served to enhance”  and
“Her playing is remarkable for splendid richness of tone, amazing facility of technique and purity of tone. The sympathetic quality is beautiful. Under her touch, the cello alternately weeps and laughs, flexile as the delicate chords of a human voice. Considering her youngness and present development a roseate future seem to await"

** 1922 - Beatrice Harrison performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, conducted by Henry Wood (Queen’s Hall, London) {she also performed the work again at the following year Proms, and again in 1928 & 1931, EVERY year from 1937 to 1942, and 1944)

** 1928 - Raya Garbousova was cello soloist in Joseph Haydn - Cello Concerto in D major, Hob. VIIb: 2, with Henry Wood Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1936 - birth of Penelope Lynex (Great Britain) d.2015
cellist, teacher, adjudicator, publications (cello cadenzas, Christmas carols etc.)

** 1946 - Daniil Shafran (Cello) and Nina Musinian (Piano) record Jagdlied (Concert Etude, Op. 55/2) by David Popper

** 1955 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a broadcast performance with violinist Zino Francescatti of the Brahms - Double Concerto, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent, at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh - later issued on CD

** 1964 - Rostropovich (with Richter at the piano) plays for the only time in his career the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas in one concert, at the Edinburgh Festival

** 1969 - a historic concert took place, luckily captured on film, and made into a film (by filmmaker Christopher Nupen), titled “The Trout”. It featured Daniel Baremboim, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Jacqueline du Pré and Zubin Mehta rehearsing and playing The Trout quintet at the new Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London. It has since been screened many times around the world.

** 1980 - first performance of Rudolf Kelterborn - Scene, for 12 Cellos
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Musikfestwochen Luzern, Switerland)

** 1983 - Roman Jabloński was cello soloist in Witold Lutosławski - Cello Concerto {Proms premiere}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1999 - first performance of John McCabe - Cello Sonata
Alice Neary/cello and Gretel Dowdeswell/piano (Presteigne Festival, UK)

31 August

** 1900 - William Henry Squire was cello soloist in Wilhelm Bernhard Molique - Concerto for Cello in D major, Op 45 No. 2 Andante, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1904 - R. Purcell Jones was cello soloist in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, with The New Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1938 - Emanuel Feuermann was cello soloist, along with Antonio Brosa/violin in Johannes Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Wood {Prom Concert, Queen’s Hall, London}

** 1938 - birth of Wieland Kuijken (Dilbeek, Belgium)
cellist, baroque cellist & viola da gamba player

** 1949 - in the Usher Hall (Edinburgh) the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande performed with Henri Honegger (cello), conducted by Ernest Ansermet.

** 1956 - Christopher Bunting was cello soloist in Gerald Finzi - Cello Concerto in A minor {Proms premiere}, with the Halle Orchestra conducted by George Weldon

** 1962 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Max Reger - Cello Sonata in A Minor, Op. 116, featuring the cellist Mischa Schneider with Peter Serkin, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1964 - Sviatoslav Richter (piano) and Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) are credited as having completed recording on this day all 5 Beethoven Cello Sonatas on the Doremi label

** 1984 - Mstislav Rostropvich receives the ‘Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic’ on 31st August 1984