1 April

** 1721 - Giovanni Perroni enters the Imperial Chapel, Vienna, as violoncellist and composer. His known works include eight oratorios, three operas, a song cycle, and an early cello concerto. His Cello Concerto in D minor was premiered in Vienna in 1712 and consists of three/four movements with a written sort of cadenza as an extra third movement before the finale. The work remains an occasional part of the cello concert repertoire

** 1767 - The ‘Mercure de France’ announces the publication in Paris of the String Quartets Op.1 by Luigi Boccherini 

** 1868 - on this day cellist Jacques Rensburg was officially given the posts of principal cello of the Orchestra of the Gürzenich Concerts and of cello professor  in the Rhenish School of Music, Cologne, after having served both posts on a temporary basis.

** 1876 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Madame Bianca Blume and Madame Patey (vocal) with Signor Piatti (cello) performing the first English performance of Raff - Cello Concerto No.1. The programme also included the first performance of Alfred Holmes - Concert Overture ‘Les Muses’

** 1888 - Bohemian cellist Ludwig Ebert retires from the position of cello professor at the ‘Conservatoire of the Rhenish Metropolis’, after simultaneously working as orchestra principal cello, but continued to teach from his home, which became Coblenz.

** 1897 - cellist May Mukle, still only 16 years old, she gave a concert in the Queen's Hall under Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the director of the Royal Academy of Music, with the adagio and finale from Antonín Dvořák's cello concerto. 

** 1903 - birth of Frieda Litschauer-Krause (Vienna) d.1992
cellist, principal cello of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, chamber music player in string quartets, Professor at the Vienna Conservatory; also played viola da gamba. In 1966 she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art {mother of cellist Heidi Litschauer}
** 1937 - on this day German cellist Ludwig Hoelscher became (cello) professor at the Berlin University of the Arts, still only in his 20s!

** 1947 - William Pleeth (cello) and Margaret Good (piano) performed in the London - Wigmore Hall in a programme including Rubbra - Cello Sonata, Op.60

** 1955 - composer Gordon Jacob finished his Concerto for cello and strings on this day, a work dedicated to Florence Hooton

** 1966 - on this day cellist Antonio Janigro made a live recording, with Yehudi Menuhi - violin, of Brahms - Double Concerto in A minor, with the Zagreb Philharmonie, conducted by Milan Horvat

** 1980 - composer Gordon Jacob finished his ‘Cello Serenade’ for Solo Violoncello on this day, a work dedicated to Ross Pople

2 April

** 1772 - birth of Ignaz Franz Edler von Mosel (Vienna)
cellist, violinist, director of the concerts of the Imperial Riding School, court councillor, director of the opera, and court librarian. Also a composer (but, alas, nothing for cello!)

** 1802 - on this day Ignace Pleyel wrote to Muzio Clementi (then in London):
“I have three superb concertos for violoncello by Lamar {Jacques Michel Hurel de Lamarre}, who is a young Rode on the bass”. However, these three concertos were NOT by Lamarre, but four concertos in all appearing under his name were actually composed by Auber! What happened is that Auber was an intimate friend of Lamarre, and as a young professional beginner was anxious to make his name wider known with the help of a well-established name. The concerto in A minor is still occasionally played.

** 1821 - birth of Emile Norblin (France)
cellist & especially professor {son and pupil of the cellist Louis Pierre Martin Norblin}

** 1848 - birth of Cesare Casella (Malaga, Spain - but possibly in Operto, Portugal)
cellist, chamber music player & composer {later based in Paris}

** 1881 - birth of Diran Alexanian (Constantinople, Turkey) d.1954
cellist & professor {based France & USA}

** 1902 - on this day German cellist Paul Grümmer made a successful debut as soloist in London, where he had the honour to appear before the King and Queen.

** 1903 - birth of Gabriel Cusson (Roxton Pond, Quebec) d.1972
composer, music educator & cellist

** 1916 - cellist Juan Ruiz-Casaux gave his first performance as soloist in Strauss - Don Quixote, in  Spain with the Orquesta Sinfónica of Madrid conducted by Fernández Arbós - he went on to perform it on countless occasions!

** 1925 - Adele Clement, French cellist, performed tours in Morocco and Algeria in 1923 and 1925; the newspaper Oued-Sahel reported on April 2nd, 1925:
"For two hours, the public was literally taken by the talent of two artists, Melles Adèle Clément and Sandra-Mario". 
A few days before the music critic had already predicted:
"With Melle Adèle Clément, it will be the exquisite, sentimental intoxication of the cello, this divine instrument whose sounds enchant and touch the most refractory”

** 1969 - Jacqueline Du Pré performed Haydn - Cello Concerto in D Major, with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, at the Royal Festival Hall (London).

3 April

** 1877 - premiere of the ballet ‘Swan Lake’ of Tchaikovsky on this day in the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow; there is a famous cello solo in this music

** 1883 - birth of Anton Walter (Carlsbad, Bohemia)
cellist, member of Fitzner String Quartet

** 1903 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Dresden by soloists Neumann & Johannes Smith

** 1913 - birth of George Barati (Győr, Hungary) d.1996
cellist, conductor & composer {based USA}

** 1914 - birth of George Sopkin (Chicago, USA) d.2008
cellist, chamber musician

** 1933 - On this day - April 3rd, 1933 - with the rise of Nazism, great young cellist Emmanuel Feuermann simply lost his job at the Berlin Conservatory….because he was Jewish. He moved for a while to London, before settling in the United States

** 1940 - birth of Stefan Popov (Bulgaria)
cellist & professor {based London}

** 1941 - birth of Joel Krosnick born (New Haven, CT, USA)
cellist, chamber musician & teacher

** 1958 - birth of Mark Summer (Encino, California, USA)
cellist (jazz), chamber musician

** 1977 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier finished recording Tortelier - Solo Cello Suite in D minor, in the London Abbey Road Studios (recording took place 2nd to 3rd April ’77)

** 1981 - first performance of Einar Englund - Concerto for 12 Cellos 
(Helsinki)

** 1989 - first performance of Peter Sculthorpe - Djilie for cello and piano
(Brisbane, Australia)

** 1994 - birth of Edgar Moreau (Paris)
cellist, chamber musician

4 April

** 1871 - first performance of Karl Eckert - Cello Concerto
soloist - David Popper (Prague)

** 1875 - birth of Jacques Gaillard (Ensival, Verviers, Belgium)
cellist, professor at conservatoires of Geneva and Mons; member of Brussels Quartet, professor at Liège Conservatoire.

** 1886 - first performance of Piatti - Cello Sonata No.2       
Alfredo Piatti/cello & Agnes Zimmermann

** 1897 - in the series of the Sunday Afternoon Orchestral Concerts given at the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, featured soloists were Señor Arbos (violin) and Mr W.H. Squire (cello), with H.W. Richards (organ).

** 1914 - Casals marries the U.S. soprano Susan Metcalfe in New Rochelle, New York, and together they begin a tour across the United States

** 1924 - first performance of John Ireland - Cello Sonata
Beatrice Harrison/cello and Evelyn Howard-Jones/piano (Aeolian Hall, London)

** 1932 - birth of Richard {Green} Lugar (Indianapolis, U.S.A.) d.2019
 politician, US Senator & adolescent cellist and church choir singer

** 1976 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Douglas Moore, with Robert Parris /piano

** 1983 - The now famous book “History of the Violoncello” by Russian pedagogue Lev Ginsburg was finally published in the English-speaking world on this day - an encyclopedia of nearly 400 pages on the history of the cello and cellists

** 1995 - the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Claus Peter Flor, featured cello soloist Lynn Harrell at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham (England).

** 1999 - birth of Sheku Kanneh-Mason (Nottingham, England)
cellist

5 April

** 1805 - on this day Belgium cellist Henry Femy (‘the younger’) performed with distinction a cello concerto written by his teacher Baudiot, at the Paris Conservatoire concerts.

** 1862 - birth of Leo Stern (Brighton, England) d.1904
cellist, composer of some pieces for cello

** 1864 - birth of Joseph Salmon (The Hague, Holland)
cellist, principal cello in Pasdeloup’s Orchestra, principal cello in Lamoureux Concerts (1886-1895), cellist of Hayot Quartet, a teacher and soloist from base in Paris

** 1931 - birth of Zdarvko Yordanov (Sofia, Bulgaria) d.2004
Soloist dedicated to new repertoire, eminent Bulgarian cello professor & author of a cello method in three volumes ‘Technique of the Left Hand”

** 1937 - the ‘Courtauld-Sargent’ Concerts, given at the Queen's Hall (London), invited Gaspar Cassado as cello soloist - the first of two consecutive performances.

** 1944 - in a concert at the National Gallery of London, William Pleeth (cello) and Margaret Good (piano) gave a joint recital

** 1946 - first performance of Barber - Cello Concerto, Op.22   
soloist Raya Garbousova with Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky  

** 1956 - Ernest Bloch completed his Suite for Solo Cello No.1

** 1957 - birth of Chris White {based in Ithaca, NY, U.S.A.)
classical, jazz and improvisational cellist, cello teacher, Founder and Director en New Directions Cello Association and Festival

** 1981 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier finished recording Martinu - Cello Sonata No.1 with pianist Michio Kobayashi, in Tokyo (the other recording days were previously on the 1st and 2nd of the month)

** 1999 - first performance of Wolfgang Rihm - Über die Linie I for cello
(Cologne, Germany)

6 April

** 1815 - birth of {Friedrich} Robert Volkmann (Lommatzsch, Saxony, Germany) d. 1883
composer, teacher, organist & cellist {based Austria & Hungary} - composer of a former very important cello concerto (1860)

** 1892 - a concert appearance of cellist Josefine Donat (b.1867 Vienna) is documented in the “Österreichische Musik- und Theaterzeitung” for 6th April 1892, playing with the pianist Henriette Hemala and the violinist Anna von Baumgarten the Brahms - Piano Trio in C minor, Op.101. 

** 1905 - a notable historical concert on this day: the Joachim Quartet (Joachim, Kruse, Wirth, Hausmann on cello), with Moser on 2nd viola, and Hugo Dechert on 2nd violoncello. The programme included Beethoven - Quartet in C minor, Op.18/4, Mozart - Quintet Eb Major, and Brahms - Sextet No.2 in G Major, Op.36 (Sing-Akademie, Berlin)

** 1917 - birth of Ede Banda (Budapest) d.2004
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician and professor

** 1922 - cellist May Mukle premiered Maurice Ravel's Sonata for violin and violoncello (violinist?) in Paris - unfortunately it was received with great reservations and even a negative reception by audiences and critics and yet is now one of the most poetic works of chamber music ever written by Ravel

** 1925 - Adele Clement, French cellist, performed tours in Morocco and Algeria in 1923 and 1925; in its number of April 6th, 1925, L'Echo d'Alger wrote:
“The concert given last Tuesday by Melle Adèle Clément, virtuoso cellist , is undoubtedly one of the most representative that we will have given this season.”

** 1933 - birth of William Stokking Jr. (Ventnor, New Jersey, USA) d. 2014
cellist, orchestra principal cello

** 1937 - the ‘Courtauld-Sargent’ Concerts, given at the Queen's Hall (London), invited Gaspar Cassado as cello soloist - the second of two consecutive performances.

** 1946 - first performance of Jerzy Fitelberg Solo Cello Sonata
soloist - Stefan Auber / the Pittsburgh Chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) at the Exhibition Hall at the College of Fine Arts of the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), U.S.A.

7 April

** 1830 - birth of Ferdinand Thieriot (Hamburg, Germany) d.1919
composer, cellist and teacher

** 1922 - Pau {Pablo} Casals debuts as a conductor (New York, Carnegie Hall)

** 1926 - birth of Eva Czako Janzer (Calcutta, India) d. 1978
cellist & teacher

** 1930 - cellists Benar Heifetz  and Joachim Stutschewsky performed with the Arnold Schönberg-affiliated Pierrot lunaire ensemble from Vienna - the group also featured Erwin Stein (condictor), Erika Stiedry-Wagner (vocalist), Rudolf Kolisch (violin), Viktor Polatschek (clarinet), Franz Wangler (flute & piccolo) and Eduard Steuermann (piano)

** 1939 - birth of Adrian Shephard (Essex, England) d.2013
cellist & conductor

** 1982 - release date / premiere of the film, in France, of “Salut, j'arrive” (English: ‘Hi ... I'm coming!); a French film directed by Gérard Poteau. The role of ‘L'homme au violoncelle’ (The man with the cello) featured Maurice Louis Baquet, an ideal person for the role as he was a French actor and cellist.

** 1994 - Lynn Harrell appeared as soloist at the Vatican with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gilbert Levine, in the Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah - the audience for this historic event, which was the Vatican's first official commemoration of the Holocaust, included Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome

** 1997 - on this day cellist Daniil Shafran was booked to give a recital in the Auditori Winterthur Hall, Barcelona - but to the sadness of the entire cello world he had passed away exactly two months earlier (7th February 1997)

8 April

** 1892 - Alwin Schroeder gave an important cello recital at Bumstead Hall (Atlanta, USA) in his first season in America, playing a dense programme with German works by Reinecke, Sitt and Klengel with Nikisch at piano, and the Busoni Kulsatelle variations (10 short variations on a Finnish folk-song) with the composer as pianist.

** 1956 - Ernest Bloch starts writing his Suite for Solo Cello No.2

** 1968 - first performance of Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Cello Concerto
soloist - Siegfried Palm / Sinfonieorchester des SWF, conducted by Ernest Bour (Strasbourg, France)

** 1969 - birth of Richard Bamping (Manchester, England)
cellist, orchestral principal cello in Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra & London Soloists’ Chamber Orchestra

** 1979 - in a chamber music concert at the Banbury and District Musical Society (Deddington Church, England) the Richard Hickox Orchestra performed with invited cello soloist Julian Lloyd Webber.

9 April

** 1762 - birth of Francisco Aliani (Piacenza, Italy) d.1812
cellist & composer 

** 1814 - birth of Felíx Battanchon (Paris) d.1893
cellist, opera orchestra musician,  composer & teacher

** 1899 - in the series of the Sunday Afternoon Orchestral Concerts given at the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, featured soloist was cellist W.H. Squire with Philip Brozel

** 1899 - birth of Maimi von Mirbach (Antwerp) d.1984
cellist (after the Nazi seizure of power, she helped persecuted Jews, also following the values of the Confessing Church. She abhorred the racial ideology of the Nazis and, as a cellist, continued to cultivate numerous contacts with Jewish musicians, even though this repeatedly put her in danger).

** 1918 - first performance of Richard Strauss - orchestral suite “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme” {the work features an important orchestral principal cello line}
concert conducted by the composer (Berlin)

** 1961 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by cellist Ottomar Borwitzky, with Wolfgang Kaiser /piano

** 1971 - Peter Racine Fricker completes his ‘Sarabande’ for solo cello (F134)
(in Memorian Igor Stravinsky)

** 1985 - first performance of Peter Racine Fricker - Cello Sonata, Op.90    
Geoffrey Rutkowski/cellist  and Wendell Nelson/piano (Beijing Central Conservartory of Music, China) 

10 April

** 1707 - birth of Michel Corrette (Rouen, Normandy, France) d.1795
composer, organist, violinist, cellist & musical textbook author

** 1808 - birth of Auguste Joseph Franchomme (Lille, France) d.1884
cellist, composer and pedagogue

** 1845 - in a letter from St. Petersburg to Moscow of April 10, 1845, Matwey Wialgohorsky recommended Alfredo Piatti to Alexander Verstovsky (a successful opera and vaudeville composer) and wrote about the purity and tenderness of the cellist's enchanting playing. Piatti dedicated his Fantasia on an Original Theme to Matwey Wialgohorsky, as did other cellist-composers other pieces, including Romberg and Servais!

** 1890 - Belgium cellist Cornélis Liégeois was the cellist in the premiere on this day of the quartet of Cesar Franck

** 1940 - on this day cellist Ennio Bolognini became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America

** 1947 - birth of Jaap ter Linden Rotterdam, Holland)
cellist, viol player and conductor (specialises in performance of baroque and classical music on authentic instruments

** 1960 - on this day, cellist Janos Starker made a live recording of Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, in Cologne, with the Rundfunk.Sinfonie-Irchester conducted by Rafael Kubelik

** 1992 - Iannis Xenakis completes the work for cello and piano ‘Paille in the Wind’ on this day, first performed eight months later in Milan {see entries for 14 December}

** 1999 - The English Northern Sinfonia performed at the Leeds Town Hall (England) with soloists  Raphael Wallfisch (cello) and Howard Breakspear (viola), in Strauss - Don Quixoteconducted by Dietfried Bernet

11 April

** 1775 - birth of Charles François Dumoncheau (France) d.31st Dec or 1st Jan 1820/21
piano virtuoso, but also cellist. Composer

** 1776 - birth of Johann Friedrich Kelz (Berlin) d.1862
cellist, royal chamber musician in Berlin, prolific composer of at least 280 works for the cello (unfortunately none survive)

** 1786 - birth of Johann Friedrich Kelz (Berlin) d.1862
cellist, royal chamber musician in Berlin, prolific composer of at least 280 works for the cello (unfortunately none survive)

** 1831 - English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with second cellist Brooks and the double bassist Dragonetti, the 11th sonata of Corelli.

** 1836 - English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with second cellist Lucas and the double bassist Dragonetti, a sonata of Corelli.

** 1874 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Madame Noriny, Herr Noriny and the Swedish Ladies' Quartette with Madame Norman-Neruda (violin), ‘Signor Piatti’ (cello) and Charles Hallé (piano).

** 1885 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Madame Hughes-Paltzer and Signor Marini (vocal) with Adolph Fischer (cello).

** 1891 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) a Violin and Cello Recital by Willy Hess and Hugo Becker took place, with contributions from Miss Marie Fillunger (vocal) and Mr Leonard Borwick (piano), accompanied by Theodor Frantzen.

** 1896 - after the London world premiere of Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, the same soloist Leo Stern almost surely also gave the second performance of the work on this day in 1896, and later in the year repeating the work again in London

** 1899 - after a solo concert by cellist Flavie van den Hende, the ‘Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press’ wrote:
“The ’cello on which Miss Van Den Hende played was the instrument of a master. It was a rare old ’cello and she obtained beautiful, full, strong tones – especially strong for a woman. Her bowing was excellent”
For those interested, well, she owned a cello made by Giovanni Paolo Maggini

** 1906 - birth of José Trotta Millán (Barcelona) d.1979
cellist 

** 1959 - on this day cellist Antonio Janigro finished recording Strauss - Don Quixote, in Chicago, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner (with Milton Preves as viola soloist)

** 1964 - birth of Johann Sebastian Paetsch  (Colorado Springs, USA)
cellist 

12 April

** 1766 - birth of Joachim Josef Fuetsch (Salzburg, Austria)
cellist, ‘court cellist’ & composer

** 1787 - on this day the ‘Journal de Paris’ reported on a performance of cellist Emmanuel Guerin (just 11 years old) and his 10-year old violinist brother performing a Symphony Concertante of Breval for solo violin and cello speaking in terms of “their astounding talent created quite a sensation and would have earned the same applause for grown up artists.”

** 1821 - birth of Carl Bergmann (Ebersbach, Germany) d.1876
cellist & conductor

** 1879 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Madame Lemmens-Sherrington (vocal) with ‘Signor Piatti’ (cello). The programme also included the first English performances of Reinecke - Festival Overture in C Major, Op.148 and C. A. Krebs -  Pastorale Religioso for Orchestra.

** 1920 - Juan Ruiz-Casaux was appointed, by unanimous decision, as head of the cello department of the Madrid Conservatoire, a post he maintained until he retired in 1960.

** 1947 - a recital at the Wigmore Hall (London) was given by Zara Nelsova, accompanied by Gerald Moore.

** 1999 - birth of Zlatomir Fung (U.S.A.)
cellist

13 April

** 1713 - birth of Pierre Jélyotte (Lasseube, France) d.1797
tenor singer, guitarist, cellist, violinist & composer

** 1743 - birth of Thomas Jefferson (Virginia, USA) d.1826
American president…and amateur violinist, cellist & harpsichord player

** 1891 - birth of Cedric Sharpe (London) d.1978
cellist & composer

** 1897 - cellist Rosa Brackenhammer performed in an unusual trio concert, to good critical acclaim; this was reported on the press:
“A concert in Stuttgart, which took place on April 13th, presented a remarkable rarity: a trio for piano, violin and cello, which was played by three graceful ladies, from Mrs. Grossler-Heim, Mrs. [Paula] Ehrenbacher-Edenfeld  [singer, violinist] and Miss Rosa Brackenhammer was played charmingly. [...] Miss R. Brackenhammer plays the cello, as demonstrated in two solo performances by D. Popper and L. Hegyesi, with outstanding technical skill” 

** 1905 - first performance of Saint-Saëns - Cello Sonata No.2 in F Major, Op.123   
Joseph Hollman/cellist - composer at piano (at the home of Alphonse Blondel, director of the Érard Piano Company, Paris) 

  ** 1912 - birth of Miloš Sádlo (Prague, born as Miloš Zátvrzský) d.2003
cellist 

** 1915 - cellist May Mukle recorded Alice Verne-Bredt - Lullaby for violoncello and piano, and Ethel Barns - Idyll for violoncello and piano with Mary Miller Mount (piano), in New York

** 1938 - birth of Keith Harvey (Liverpool, England) d.2017
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician 

** 1951 - birth of Alexander "Sasha" Zhiroff (Ishim, USSR)
cellist (classical & cross-over)

**1994 - birth of Héctor Pirir (San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatamala)
cellist, orchestral (became the youngest musician of the National Symphony Orchestra - OSN - of Guatamala at just 18 years old!)

14 April

** 1768 - on this date the earliest published compositions by James Cervetto “Opera prima[:] Six Solos for the Violoncello, with a Thorough Bass”, were first advertised for sale in the Public Advertiser (14th April 1768)

** 1840 - In a concert of the talented Russian violinist Nikolay Dmitriev-Svetchin, the cellist Franchomme participated by playing a “Theme and Variations” he himself had composed. 

** 1843 - birth of Albert Gowa (Hamburg, Germany)
cellist, principal cello in court of Prince Schaumburg Lippe at Biickeburg, principal cello in Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra (during 20 years), chamber musician in various quartets.

** 1867 - birth of Karl Piening (Bielefeld, Germany)
cellist, member of the ‘newly-founded’ Glasgow Quartet, solo cellist of the ducal chapels at Crefeld and Meiningen, member Meiningham Quartet, played music with composer Wilhelm Berger

** 1878 - birth of Hélène Dolmetsch (Nancy, France) d.1924
cellist {based England}

** 1951 - birth of Julian Lloyd Webber (London)
cellist, conductor & conservatoire principal 

** 1957 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, in Geneva, with the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, conducted by Hans Rosbaud

** 1979 - first performance of Peter Sculthorpe - Requiem for cello
(Mittagong, NSW, Australia)

** 1982 - birth of Alisa Weilerstein (Rochester, New York, USA)
cellist

15 April

** 1651 - birth of Domenico Gabrielli (Bologna, Italy) d.1690 [*alternative birthdate given as 19 Oct, 1659]
cellist, court & church orchestral musician & composer 

** 1776 - birth of Joseph Valentin Dont (Nieder-Georgenthal, Bohemia)
cellist, opera orchestra musician, theatre orchestra musician {father of well-known violinist Jacob Dont}

** 1796 - on this day an advertisement appeared in the ‘Diario of Madrid’ announcing the sale of “a violoncello school with all the art and ‘explanation of the instrument’, several copies of works of various kinds and authorship and two very good cellos for solo and chapel”.

** 1890 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) Carl Sachs gave a cello Recital, accompanied by James Mantell

** 1902 - birth of Anthony Pini (Buenos Aires) d.1989
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & professor

** 1903 - at the Beethoven Hall, Berlin, a ‘Sonata evening’ was given by Raoul Pugno (piano) and Jean Gerardy (cello).

** 1912 - the sinking of the RMS Titanic, in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship's eight musicians - members of a three-piece ensemble and a five-piece ensemble - boarded at Southampton and travelled as second-class passengers.
There were THREE cellists who lost their lives in the tragedy:
** Roger Marie Bricoux (Cosne-sur-Loire, France) - a French cellist on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage - he died in the disaster aged 20 years old
** John Wesley Woodward (West Bromwich, England) - a British cellist on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage - he died in the disaster aged 32 years old
** Percy Cornelius Taylor (London) - a British cellist on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage - he died in the disaster aged 32 years old

** 1912 - birth of Giuseppe Selmi (Modena, Italy) d.1987
cellist, professor & composer. Principal cello in the RAI Symphony Orchestra of Rome, solo concert performer throughout Europe; a transcriber, reviser - he has also composed didactic works, chamber music and sacred music.

** 1945 - on this day the cellist Anita Laster-Wallfisch was liberated from tortures in the concentration camp of Auschwitz as the German authority crumbled, and she became an interpreter for the British army (speaking German, French and English!)

** 1955 - The first public performance of Saygun’s ‘Partita’ was given by German cellist Martin Bochmann in Istanbul (Turkey) on this April day in 1955; Bochmann was the cello professor at Ankara State Conservatory during that time. Saygun dedicated the Partita ‘in memory of Schiller’. The story of the work was:
Max Meinecke, the director of the Istanbul City Theatres suggested a title for the work like: ‘Requiem/Cello Suite’. In 1955, Max Meinecke had put the famous philosopher, poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller’s ‘Kabale und Liebe’ (Intrigue and Love) on the theatre’s programme. He commissioned Saygun to write a solo piece for cello to be performed before the play.

** 1959 - Rohan De Saram (cello) and Edmund Rubbra (piano) gave a London Wigmore Hall recital, including Rubbra - Cello Sonata Op.60

** 1970 - a special homage to Pau {Pablo} Casals took place on this day in New York, with a brief performance by an amazing cello ensemble of ONE HUNDRED players, headed by Bernard Green house, as principal. Others included Orlando Cole, Fritz Matz, Leopold Teraspulsky, Bonnie Hampton, Madeline Foley, Maurice Eisenberg, Robert Jamieson, Gabor Retjo, Dimitri Markevitch, Ko Iwasaki, Naoum Benditzky, Takayori Atsuni, Louis Potter Jr., Gordon Epperson, Alan Shulman, Fortunato Arico, Jascha Silberstein and Janos Scholz. Unfortunately no New York Philharmonic cello players were able to be present among the 100, because the Philharmonic had an unavoidable double rehearsal on that particular Wednesday. The featured work was by Casals - his “Sardana”, composed in 1926.

** 1982 - first performance of Rodrigo - Cello Concerto No.2 “Concierto como un divertimento’     
soloist Julian Lloyd Webber with London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jesús López Cobos (London, Royal Festival Hall)    

16 April

** 1855 - the “Fantaisie sur un Theme original pour le Violoncelle avec accompagnement de l’Orchestre" of Carl Leopold Boehm was dated as finished “Carlsruhe, April 16, 1855.”

** 1866 - birth of Heinrich Kruse (Arolsen, Germany)
cellist, principal cello of court orchestra of Cassels, member of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Max Fiedler Orchestra; several original pieces for cello

** 1883 - cellist Víctor Mirecki Larramat inaugurates, with a cello recital, the Sala Zozaya, Madrid to a clamorous reception from the public

** 1889 - birth of Charlie Chaplan (London) d.1977
actor, film director & cellist!

** 1898 - first performance of Fauré - Sicilienne Op.78, for cello and piano
(Paris)

** 1908 - on 16th April 1908, in Brighton (England), 22 year-old cellist Philip Abas {Abbas} married the three years younger Englishwoman Beatrice Eleanor Sanderson, daughter of a candle-maker . The first daughter ‘Isobel Rodrigues Abas’ was born in 1909, followed in 1912 by ‘Beatrice Frances Abas’. However, a tragedy struck in 1915 when his wife and children perished on the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania, sunk by a German submarine.

** 1957 - At the Theater of the University of Puerto Rico, during a rehearsal with the Festival Orchestra, Pau Casals suffered a heart attack

17 April

** 1826 - on this day English cellist Robert Lindley performed with the double bassist Dragonetti a sonata of Corelli (in London)

** 1843 - birth of Louis Noebe (Güstrow, Germany)
cellist, member Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, member court chapel of Weimar, principal cello in Hamburg Orchestra and in the Orchestra of the Museums Concerts of Frankfurt-upon-Main, director of a violin instrument studio with new patents

** 1870 - the last performance given at the Kärtnertortheater before its demolition - the featured opera was ‘William Tell’ with cellist David Popper performing the opening cello solo
(Vienna)

** 1903 - birth of Gregor Piatigorsky (Dnipro, Ukraine) d.1976
cellist, chamber musicia, arranger, composer & teacher {based USA}

** 1958 - birth of Michael Bach {Bachtischa} (Worms, Germany}
cellist, composer & visual artist

** 1973 - first performance of Helmut Eder - Melodia-Ritmica, for 12 Cellos, Op.59 N.1
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Salzburg, Austria)

** 1974 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier made a live recording with violinist Yan Pascal Tortelier, of the Brahms - Double Concerto in A minor, from the London Royal Festival Hall, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Pritchard

** 1983 - first performance of Klaus Wüsthoff - Cellodrom, for 12 Cellos
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (televised concert, SFB, Berlin)

** 1991 - Release date (premiere screened in France) of the film “Delicatessen”
directed by Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon and Pascal Benezech  
A post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants - famous for a duo performance of cello and musical saw.

18 April

** 1759 - birth of Jacques Christian Michel Widerkehr l'Aîné {also Wiederkehr, Viderkehr} (Strasbourg, France) d.1823
composer and cellist. Performed with the Concert Spirituel and the orchestra of the Loge Olympique

** 1800 - Beethoven composed his Sonata for Piano and French Horn for a concert held at the Vienna Hofburgtheater on 18th April 1800 by Giovanni Punto (Johann Wenzel Stich), the most famous horn player of his day. The solo part was designed to grant Punto an opportunity to display his special prowess; in consequence, there were few professional virtuosos capable of performing it - so Beethoven made a version for cello, which (unfortunately) has been performed on very few occasions

** 1834 - birth of Ludwig Ebert (Chateau Kladrau, Bohemia)
cellist, member opera orchestra of Temesvar, principal cello in the Ducal Chapel of Oldenburg, professor in Cologne of the ‘Rhenish School of Music’, principal cello of the Gürzenich Orchestra

** 1884 - first performance of d’Indy - Lied, Op.19 for cello and orchestra
soloist - ? (Société National de Musique, Paris)

** 1891 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Miss Ada Patterson (vocal), Master Jean Gerardy (cello) and Mr H. Krause 

** 1914 - birth of Fritz Magg (Vienna) d.1997
cellist, orchestral principal cello, chamber musician {based USA}

** 1920 - first performance of Marrhijs Vermeulen - Cello Sonata No.1 (written 1918)
performed by Thomas Canivez & Evert Cornelis (Amsterdam)

** 1974 - in the Schubert-Saal, Vienna, a solo recital of music of J.S. Bach was given by cello soloist Thomas Igloi, under the auspices of the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft

** 1977 - birth of Irina Comesaña (Madrid)
cellist, assistant principal cello Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE (Spanish Radio-Television Orchestra) & professor

** 1981 - birth of Sol Gabetta (Villa María, Argentina)
cellist {based Germany}

19 April

** 1819 - English cellist Robert Lindley presented on this day his own trio (still in manuscript) for two cellos and piano, with the cellist Eley playing the second part, and Weichsel on keyboard. The first cello part was the concertante ‘principale’ line.

** 1863 - on today’s date in history an orchestral concert was held with the Löwenberg Orchestra (in Lowenberg, today Lwówek in Poland) conducted by Hector Berlioz, with all music on the programme being composed by the director. When cellist David Popper - member of the orchestra - accompanied Berlioz to the train station (after the performance), Berlioz realized that he had forgotten his overcoat at the hotel. Popper generously gave him his in place - later Popper received a warm written note of thanks from Berlioz!

** 1894 - birth of Arturo Bonucci (Mulhouse, France) d.1964
cellist, chamber musician & professor

** 1965 - birth of Keith {Jerome} Jackson (Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A.)
American football tight end & cellist in high school and further education (college)

** 1988 - on this day cellist Daniil Shafran gave a recital in Warsaw (Royal Castle) with the pianist Oleg Stepanov (an all-J.S. Bach programme)

** 1967 - first performance of Ligeti - Cello Concerto
soloist - Siegfried Palm with Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Henryk Czyz (Berlin)

** 1994 - Alvaro Quintinilla/cello and Daniel del Pino/piano made a live recording for Spanish National Radio of Gaspar Cassadó - Requiebros for Cello and Piano (pub.1931)
Casa de la Radio, Madrid

20 April

** 1717 - on this day the governors of the Capella del Tesoro di San Gennaro (Italy) felt obliged to repce cellist Rocco Greco with Francesco Alborea, on account for Greco’s failing health, with the stipulation that Alborea would be given the post indefinitely upon the death of Greco; and this is the last mention of the older cellist so maybe he didn’t survive for very much time after that (?)

** 1838 - birth of Fritz Albert Christian Rudinger (Copenhagen) d.1925
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber music & teacher

** 1895 - first known concerto performance of William Henry Squire as concerto soloist, performing the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto in A minor at the Crystal Palace Concerts (London)  

** 1946 - birth of Philippe Muller (Mulhouse, France)
cellist

** 1959 - Gwyneth George was cello soloist in Edmund Rubbra - Soliloquy Op.57, with the Fogell Ensemble conducted by Martin Fogell, at the London Wigmore Hall.

** 1975 - birth of Caroline Stinson (Edmonton, Canada)
cellist, chamber musician - traditional & contemporary repertoire

** 1983 - birth of Guillermo Pastrana (Granada, Spain)
cellist

** 1985 - in a chamber music concert at the Banbury and District Musical Society (England) a cello recital was given by Lowri Blake (cello) and Caroline Palmer (piano).

** 1986 - first performance of the ‘reconstructed’ Sullivan - Cello Concerto in D Major (previous orchestral material destroyed by fire in May 1964)
soloist - Julian Lloyd Webber with London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Mackerras (Barbican, London)

** 1998 - Juan Enrique Sainz/cello and Alberto Gómez/piano premiered Enrique Igoa Mateos - ‘Manifiesto I: la mirada interrumpida’, Op 33, for cello and piano, in a concert recorded by Spanish National Radio
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid

21 April

** 1855 - birth of Heinrich Grünfeld (Prague) d.1931
cellist, court solo cellist {based Germany}

** 1888 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were ‘Nikita’, Madame Carlotta Recoschéwicz and Carl Formes (vocal), Hans Wessely (violin) and Monsieur E. Gillet (cello). This was billed as a ‘Mr Manns's Benefit Concert’.

** 1901 - cello performance in London - Madame Kirkby Lunn with Mr Clyde Twelvetrees (cello)
unclear as to whether orchestral or chamber concert

** 1931 - birth of John Tseng-Hsin Hsu Shantou (China) d.2018
viol player, barytonist, cellist, and conductor - specialist in French baroque viol music and a professor of music at Cornell University {based in U.S.A.}

** 1932 - in the Saal Bechstein (Berlin) a programme titled “Cello-Abend” was given by Emanuel Feuermann.

** 1934 - birth of Jascha Silberstein {birth name: Hannes Bruno Willer} (Stettin, Germany, now Poland) d.2008
cellist, opera orchestra principal cello {based USA}

22 April

** 1870 - birth of Isaäc Mossel (Rotterdam) d.1923
cellist, orchestra principal cello; solo violoncellist at the “Konzerthaus” in Berlin, and in the following year also of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; principal cello at the Concertgebouw at Amsterdam, teacher at the conservatoire and at the school of the “Maatschappij tot bevordering van Toonkunst”; among many honourable distinctions he received was the title of “Officier de l’Instruction Publique” from the ‘French government.

** 1871 - birth of James Richardson (Manchester, England)
cellist, principal cello Manchester Philharmonic Orchestra, principal cello professor at the Manchester School of Music, lecturer on cello matters (history, literature etc.) in the north of England

** 1884 - birth of Semyon {Matveyevich} Kozolupov (Krasnokholmskaya, Russia)  d.1961
cellist, chamber musician & professor

** 1897 - a notable historical concert on this day, a “Johannes Brahms Memorial Concert”; with the Joachim Quartet (Joachim, Kruse, Wirth, Hausmann on cello), and with Moser on 2nd viola, and Hugo Dechert on 2nd violoncello. The programme included all music of Brahms - Quartet in C minor, Op.51, Sextet in Bb Major, Op.18, and the Quintet in G major, Op.111 (Sing-Akademie, Berlin)

** 1920 - first full performance of Stanford - Irish Concertino for solo violin, solo cello and orchestra
May Harrison/violin & Beatrice Harrison/cello (Bournemouth, England)

** 1920 - birth of Arthur Winograd (New York City) d.2010
cellist, chamber musician, orchestral musical director

 ** 1928 - first performance of Carlos Chávez - Sonatina for cello and piano
(the Copland-Sessions concerts of Contemporary Music takes place at the Edyth Totten Theatre, New York)

** 1940 - one of the last performances of virtuoso Emmanuel Feuermann - of D'Albert's Cello Concerto, Op.20, at Carnegie Hall with the National Orchestral Association conducted by Leon Barzin.

** 1986 - The Delmé String Quartet gave a radio broadcast for BBC Radio 3 of Haydn String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 76 - the quartet were Granville Jones (violin) Jürgen Hess (violin), John Underwood (viola) and Joy Hall (cello) - Joy would have been 77 years old then!

23 April

** 1760 - cellist James Cervetto, aged only 13 years old, participates successfully in a concert given by Mlle. Gertrud Schmeling (better known as Mme Mara, after marrying cellist Johann Bapt. Mara) at the Little Haymarket Theatre, London. The great singer was herself only 10 years old at the time! In the same event also participated a young pianist, and a young violinist.

** 1836 - on this day English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with the double bassist Howell, the sonata Op.5/6 of Corelli

** 1760 - cellist James Cervetto, aged only 13 years old, participates successfully in a concert given by Mlle. Gertrud Schmeling (better known as Mme Mara, after marrying cellist Johann Bapt. Mara) at the Little Haymarket Theatre, London. The great singer was herself only 10 years old at the time! In the same event also participated a young pianist, and a young violinist.

** 1842 - birth of Max Kummer (Dresden, Germany) d. 1871
cellist {the youngest son of Friedrich August Kummer}

** 1860 - first performance of Robert Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, Op.129, with the cello soloist Ludwig Ebert {Oldenburg, Germany}

** 1877 - birth of Thomas Canivez (Charleroi, Belgium) d.1969
Activity as cello soloist, including presentations of unusual (then) ‘modern’ repertoire

** 1883 - cellist Marie Geist - although well establishing herself as a professional cellist by now - performed on this day as a solo pianist, performing Mendelssohn's ‘Capriccio brillant’ Op.22

** 1894 - first performance of Alexander von Zemlinsky - Cello Sonata 
(Vienna)

** 1960 - birth of Xavier Gagnepain (Paris)
cellist, chamber musician & professor. Musical writer. Recordings and unusual projects.

** 1968 - first performance of Ernst Krenek - Cello Studien 
(Riehen, Switzerland)

** 1981 - first performance of Arvo Pärt - Concerto for violin, cello and chamber orchestra 
(London)

** 1995 - first recording of Heras Comino - Yliram for cello and piano
Ivana Radakovich/cello and Javier Rodríguez/piano (Real Conservatorio, Granada, Spain)

** 1999 - release date / premiere of “Lost & Found”; an American romantic comedy film starring David Spade and Sophie Marceau and directed by Jeff Pollack.
Restaurant owner Dylan Ramsey (David Spade) is head-over-heels in love with his new neighbour, a French cellist named Lila (Sophie Marceau). In a desperate attempt to garner her affections, he kidnaps her beloved pet dog and offers to help her find him on a phantom dog hunt. A wrench is thrown in his plans, however, when the dog swallows his best friend's diamond ring, and things get worse for Dylan as Lila's ex-fiancée, Rene, arrives to win her back…

24 April

** 1862 - birth of Otto Hutschenreuter (Königsee, Thuringia, Germany)
cellist, principal cello Helsinfors Philharmonic Orchestra, teacher Stern Conservatoire, principal cello at Hamburg, director of Schwantzer Conservatoire in Berlin, co-founder of Berlin Association for Chamber Music; author of ‘Reform Violoncello School’

** 1873 - the famous German cellist Fr. Grützmacher writes to composer Joachim Raff on today’s date asking…for a new cello concerto! Here is part of this letter:
“Highly honoured Sir and friend …  I would like to use my first free moment to express to you a long-cherished personal wish. This consists of nothing less than to entreat you, to the best of my ability, to free us poor cellists from our increasingly unbearable and highly discouraging position by writing a concerto for our instrument over the summer. I can assure you that such a work by you would be eye-catching, and would be greeted with the most widespread interest and delight…”

** 1875 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Madame Blanche Cole, Mr E. Lloyd and Mr Santley (vocal), Hans von Bülow (piano) and Herr Jules de Swert (cello). This concert was advertised as ‘Mr Mann's Benefit Concert’.

** 1875 - birth of Jacques van Lier (The Hague, Holland) d.1951
cellist, chamber musician; principal cello of Paleis for Volksvlijt at Amsterdam, and of the Philharmonic Orchestra (Berlin); principal professor of violoncello at the Klindworth- Scharwenka Conservatoire, found-member of the Dutch Trio with Conraad V. Bos and Jos van Veen; composed books of study and made 40 transcriptions for cello.

** 1907- first performance of a lost work (and title unknown) by Havergal Brian
Willy Lehmann/cello and WH Haddon Squire/piano (Broadwood’s Studios, London)

** 1941 - first modern performance of the ‘original version’ of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations
(soloist Daniil Shafran, in Moscow)

** 1964 - Lynn Harrell gave a recital for The Violoncello Society of New York (at New York Carnegie Recital Hall), assisted by the pianist Samuel Sanders

** 1965 - Jacqueline du Pre (cello) performed as soloist in Edmund Rubbra - Soliloquy, Op.57 with the Newbury String Players conducted by Christopher Finzi, in St John's Church, Stockcross (England).

** 1972 - birth of Zuill Bailey (Alexandria, Virginia, USA)
cellist, chamber musician & artistic director

** 1985 - first performance of Antón García Abril - 2 Pieces for cello and piano (1981) [there was originally a project to expand the work to three movements and publish it asTryptic]
Rafael Ramos/cello and Pedro Espinosa/piano (Foundation Juan March, Madrid) - they also performed Miguel Angel Coria Varela - Capriccio (1985) in the same programme

** 1985 - first performance of Wuorinen - Five; Concerto for amplified cello and orchestra
soloist - ? / conducted by composer (New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, New York)

25 April

** 1798 - birth of Jean Andries (Gent, Belgium) d.1872
violinist, cellist, composer, pedagogue & musicologist

** 1907 - birth of Isaac Mamott (Lutsk, Ukraine) d.1964
cellist & music educator {based Canada}

** 1927 - birth of Siegfried Palm (Barmen - now Wuppertal - Germany) d.2005
cellist, contemporary music specialist

** 1932 - first important Madrid concert for the Basque cellist Gandía Lahidalga, for the ‘Asociación de Cultura Madrileña’- really a ‘debut’ for him

** 1954 - first performance of Hilding Rosenberg - Cello Concerto No.2
(Swedish radio, Stockholm)

** 1955 - birth of Michael Denhoff (Ahaus, Germany)
composer & cellist

** 1958 - first performance of Einojuhani Rautavaara - Modificata for cello, percussion and orchestra 
(Helsinki)

** 1961 - birth of Truls Mørk (Bergen, Norway)
cellist

** 1969 - first performance of Helmut Lachenmann - Notturno for cello and orchestra 
(Brussels)

** 1973 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier finished recording 2 Tchaikovsky works - Rococo Variations and Pezzo Capriccioso, with the Northern Sinfonia of England conducted by Yan PascalTortelier (the other recording day was the previous day)

** 1987 - cellist Maria Nakeva was invited to perform in the inaugeration of the ‘Palau de la Música de Valencia’, being offered a post of principal cello in the city two months later

** 1988 - Pilar Serrano/cello and Luciano González Sarmiento/piano performed Roberto Gerhard - Sonata for cello and piano (1956) in the Caja Postal, Madrid, recorded live by Spanish National Radio.

** 1992 - first performance of Lindberg - Duo Concertante for clarinet, cello, and eight players 
(Theatersaal, Witten, Germany)

** 1995 - on this day cellist Daniil Shafran gave a recital in London’s Wigmore Hall with the pianist Anton Ginsburg (the programme included sonatas by Brahms, Shostakovich and Franck, with at least five encores!)

26 April

** 1794 - birth of Mateusz Wielhorsky (St. Petersburg, Russia) d.1866
military colonel & cellist

** 1868 - birth of Eduard Wellenkamp (Hamburg, Germany)
cellist, member of Bülow Orchestra, member of the Fiedler and the Philharmonic Orchestras at Hamburg; cellist of the Koperzky Quartet, member of Professor Barth's Quartet at Hamburg; organist at the church of St. Gertrud (Hamburg?); composer

** 1885 - birth of Charles Warwick Evans (Bergen, Norway) d.1974
cellist

** 1906 - The ‘Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser’ had on previous occasions given glowing reports of Robert Hausmann, but on this review appearing on today’s date there was veiled criticism:
“Professor Hausmann's rich and expressive tone a constant source of joy to one many times during the evening, but he evinced a tendency or twice during the course of the two Quartets to ‘step outside the picture,’ and momentarily postpone his entries, to the detriment of the ‘ensemble’.”

** 1919 - on 26th April 1919, at Frank Schuster’s London Westminster home, cellist Felix Salmond took part in private performances of Elgar’s new Quartet and Quintet, with Albert Sammons, W.H. Reed, Raymond Jeremy and William Murdoch. The generous Schuster footed the bill for this all-star ensemble and invited members of the musical press to hear the two works….

** 1929 - first performance of Dvorak - Cello Concerto No.1 in A Major (in cello & piano score)  
soloist František Berka, with Otakar Vondrovic/piano (Prague)

** 1949 - in a concert at the Holywell Music Room (Oxford University Music Club and Union concert), Edmund Rubbra - Cello Sonata, Op.60 was performed by Raymond Dodd (cello) and Nigel Dodd (piano)

** 1961 - first performance of Rodolfo Halffter - Cello Sonata, Op.26
Adolfo Odnoposoff (cello)/performers (in the ‘II Festival Interamericano de Música’, Washington DC, USA)

** 1961 - birth of Alexandre Alexandrovitch Kniazev (Moscow)
cellist and organist

** 1967 - first performance of Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Intercomunicazione, for cello and piano
Siegfried Palm/cello and Aloys Kontarsky/piano (Cologne, Germany)

** 1967 - first performance of Jolivet - Cello Concerto
soloist - Mstislav Rostropovich with Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra (Grand Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Moscow)

** 1982 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier finished recording the 6 Bach - Solo Cello Suites, in London (the recordings were 14th to 17th April ’82, and 24th to 26th April ’82)

** 1983 - first performance of Bennett Zon - Cello Sonata and first Scottish performance of Walton - Passacaglia for solo cello
William Schofield/cello and David Gaukroger/piano (Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh)

** 1988 - a Reid Lunch-hour Concert took place on today’s date at the Reid Concert Hall (Edinburgh) with Penelope Lynex - cello and Malcolm Martineau - piano. The programme consisted of D.F. Tovey - Elegiac Variations, Op. 25, Debussy - Cello Sonata and Janacek - Fairy Tale

** 1996 - a Reid Lunch-hour Concert took place on today’s date at the Reid Concert Hall (Edinburgh) with Florian Kitt - violoncello and Rita Medjimorec - piano. The unusual programme consisted of Schumann - Phantasiestücke, op. 73, Gert Kuhr - Portraits, Nigel Osborne - Quasi una Fantasie for cello solo, and Stravinsky - Suite Italienne

27 April

** 1813 - birth of Wilhelm Herman Barth (Copenhagen) d.1896
composer, multi-instrumentalist (violin, horn, cello and organ) & music theorist

** 1836 - birth of Moritz Kahnt (Löbnitz, Germany) d.1904
cellist, orchestra principal cello, professor…and organist

** 1857 - first performance of Alkan - Cello Sonata, Op.47
Auguste Franchomme/cellist and composer at piano (Salle Erard, Paris)

** 1866 - first performance of Saint-Saëns - Suite in D minor, Op.16
performers? {it is known thar Berlioz, Liszt and Gounod were all present in the audience! - Salle Pleyel, Paris}

** 1891 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) the third performance of three ‘Master Jean Gerardy’s Violoncello Recitals’ was heard, accompanied by Mr Waddington Cooke.

** 1918 - first performance of Bax - Folk-Tale for cello and piano
(Wigmore Hall, London)

** 1928 - Belgian cellist Jeanne Kufferath performed in the Lyceum de Belgique in Brussels, a foundation of the "Union Patriotique des Femmes Belges".  It was a concert that exclusively presented works by the American composer Swan Hennessy; she played ‘Rhapsodie Gaélique’ and a ‘Suite Celtique’ (both for violoncello and piano) plus a ‘Petit Trio Celtique’ for violin and piano was also heard.

** 1937 - birth of Michael Grebanier (New York)    
cellist, orchestra principal cello & chamber musician

** 1952 - Daniil Shafran records Concerto for Cello No.1 in G minor, Op. 49 by Dmitri Kabalevsky with the USSR Radio/TV Large Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dmitri Kabalevsky

** 1960 - birth of Misha Quint (St. Petersburg)   
cellist & music director

** 1966 - Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 2nd Cello Concerto on this day, to be premiered in September of the same year

** 1976 - birth of Isabel Campbell (Glasgow)  
cellist, composer & songwriter

28 April

** 1819 - birth of Karl Grimm (Hildburghausen, Germany) d.1888
cellist, principal cello at the Court Theatre at Wiesbaden for nearly 50 years! He also composed lighter cello music.

** 1852 - second performance of Sterndale Bennett - Cello Sonata Duo in A minor
(Willis’s Rooms, London) 

** 1877 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Mrs Osgood and Mr Edward Lloyd (vocal), with the Crystal Palace Choir and ‘Herr Robert Hausmann’ (cello).

** 1941 - birth of Haflidi Hallgrimsson (Iceland)
composer and cellist {based Scotland/England} 

** 1956 - Ernest Bloch completed writing his Suite for Solo Cello No.

** 1979 - first performance of Bridge - Scherzetto for cello and piano
cello/Julian Lloyd Webber (Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, England)

29 April

** 1828 - birth of Magnus Klietz (Altenkirchen, Island of Rügen, Germany)   
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & teacher  

** 1857 - birth of Edmund van der Straten (Düsseldorf, Germany) d.1934 
cellist, teacher, composer and music writer of very important cello literature

** 1901 - first performance of Reger - Cello Sonata No.2 in G minor, Op.28
(Wesel, Germany)

** 1902 - Hugo Becker (cello) was soloist in Haydn - Cello Concerto in D Major with the Queen’s Hall Concert Orchestra, conducted by ‘Monsieur Ysaye’. Mr Ffrangcom-Davies was also a vocal soloist in this performance.

** 1920 - the Royal Philharmonic Society at the Queen's Hall (London) conducted by Landon Ronal, gave a performance featuring the soloists Guilhermina Suggia (cello) and Marguerite Nielka (vocal).

** 1945 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by cellist Bernard Greenhouse, with Irving Owen /piano

** 1958 - birth of Michelle Pfeiffer (Santa Ana, California, U.S.A.)
an American actress known for pursuing eclectic roles in a wide range of film genres, she has consistently received acclaim for her versatile performances, and is recognized as one of the most prolific actresses of the 1980s and 1990s. In the film - "What Lies Beneath" her role presented varying challenges, and in order to prepare better she took lessons on the cello. She was quoted as saying at that time:
"My character was a former concert musician, so I had to look professional. I developed a love for the cello, and would like to continue with lessons because it has such a beautiful sound."

** 1959 - A special benefit concert by Oscar Shumsky (violin), Leonard Rose (cello) and Rosina Lhevinne (piano) took place to benefit the Juilliard School of Music. At least one work in the programme, the Mendelssohn Trio No.1 in D Minor, was recorded for posterity

** 1970 - the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with soloists Ralph Holmes (violin) and Rohan de Saram (cello), conducted by Adrian Boult, gave a performance in Oxford.

** 1983 - Release date (premiere screened in U.S.A.) of the film “The Hunger”
directed by Tony Scott, starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon
An erotic horror film, the story of a love triangle between a doctor who specialises in sleep and aging research and a vampire couple. David Bowie interprets on cello, and cello/chamber music is used in the soundtrack

** 1998 - first performance of Peter Sculthorpe - Cello Dreaming for cello and orchestra
(Manchester)

30 April

** 1792 - birth of Johann Friedrich Schwencke (Hamburg, Germany)
cellist, organist & pianist. Organist of St. Nicolaus, Hamburg. Composer

** 1861 - a letter was written by cellist Julius Goltermann to cellist George Goltermann; they no not appear to be at all related! Here is the text:
“Dear Friend, --- All in haste I beg you will kindly forward the enclosed letter to the address, the “Herr Capellmeister” (conductor) will call upon you. I hope to have within this year still the pleasure to see you, as I shall be moving nearer Frankfurt soon, and beg of you at the same time to have me booked for the concert season. I should be very pleased if Herr Cp. Steraup would bring me the orchestral parts of your concerto. Hearty greetings to friend Mayer, Bockmühl, and especially your amiable wife, from your Julius Goltermann. April 30, 1861”

** 1871 - recital of David Popper/cello and Anton Door/piano (probably first performance of Karl Eckert - Cello Concerto in version with piano reduction; programme also featured a Servais concerto work)
(Vienna)

** 1877 - on this day invited soloist Robert Hausmann performed the Raff - Cello Concerto in D minor, at the Philharmonic Society, London

** 1889 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) the first of a series of three chamber concerts took place featuring Josef Ludwig (violin) and W.E. Whitehouse (cello).

** 1899 - in the series of the Sunday Afternoon Orchestral Concerts given at the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, featured soloist was cellist W.H. Squire with Mr Kirkby Lunn 

** 1923 - birth of Percy Heath (Wilmington, NC, USA) d.2005
jazz bassist & cellist

** 1925 - first performance of Hindemith - Kammermusik No.3 (concerto), Op.36/2
cello soloist - Rudolf Hindemith, and conducted by the composer (Bochum, Germany)

** 1942 - first performance of David Diamond - Concerto for cello and orchestra 
soloist - ?, conducted by Howard Hanson (Rochester, NY, USA)

** 1947 - birth of Abdul Wadud {born as Ron (Ronald) DeVaughn in Cleveland, Ohio, USA}
jazz and classical cellist

** 1952 - at the Royal Festival Hall (London) the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harry Blech, performed with invited cello soloist Edmund Kurtz.

** 1962 - first performance of Wuorinen - Duuiensela, for cello and piano
(Jewish Community Centre, New Haven, Connecticut, USA)

** 1977 - at the Town Hall, Leeds (England) the Yorkshire Sinfonia performed with Malcolm Binns (piano), Manoug Parikian and Peter Mountain (violin) and Anna Shuttleworth (cello) as soloists. 

** 1996 - a Reid Lunch-hour Concert took place on today’s date at the Reid Concert Hall (Edinburgh) with Florian Kitt - violoncello and Rita Medjimorec - piano. The unusual programme consisted of Debussy - Cello Sonata, a new work by Lauermann, Janacek - Pohadka, and Martinu - Variations on a theme of Rossini