1 July

** 1702 - Jos.Malagotti enters the Imperial Chapel, Vienna, as violoncellist

** 1880 - the appearance of a woman at the violoncello was still perceived as unusual and sometimes caused a sensation among music critics. The ‘Wiener Signals’ (July 1, 1880) reviewed Luise Wandersleb like this:
“One is accustomed to expressing a not inconsiderable distrust of women who play the violoncello, which, however, must have arisen from the nature of the instrument, perhaps also due to the experiences made on the cello. In fact, only very few of the cellists who have appeared so far have been able to soar to an artistically significant height. One of these musicians [...] is the recently mentioned cellist Frau Wandersleb-Patzig”  

** 1893 - in the special series of eleven concerts “Adelina Patti Concerts”, given at the Royal Albert Hall, London (all of which involved the famous vocalist Adelina Patti) the performance on this day included guests Madame Amy Sherwin, Madame Patey, Madame Alice Gomez and Mr Norman Salmond (vocal) with Miss Fanny Davies (piano), Master Jean Gerardy (cello) and the Meister Glee Singers. The orchestral overtures in this concert were replaced with organ solos by Edwin H. Lemare.

** 1900 - birth of Marcus Adeney (London) d.1998 
cellist, chamber musician, teacher & writer

** 1919 - in the Wigmore Hall (London), a ‘Dramatic Recital’ was given by Erica Green with Mabel Manson (vocal) and Monsieur Doehaerd (cello)

** 1929 - cellist (later more famed as conductor) John Barbirolli with pianist Ethel Bartlett recorded J.S. Bach - Viola de Gamba Sonata No. 1, BWV 1027, for Columbia (in Petit France, London) - this was probably Barbirooli’s most substantial recording as a cellist.

** 1948 - birth of Maxine Neuman (New York)
cellist, chamber music player & teacher

** 1957 - the first of 2 consecutive recitals in the York Festival (England) was given by Antonio Janigro, cello, and Veyron-Larcroix, harpsichord.

** 1972 - first performance of original 5-string “violino grande” Penderecki - Cello Concerto No.1     
soloist - Bronislaw Eichenholz (violino grande) with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Henryk Czyz (Östersund, Sweden) 

2 July

** 1763 - birth of Peter Ritter (Mannheim, Germany)
virtuoso cellist
- legend has it that he went with his father to Berlin and played before the Crown Prince (later Frederic William II),  an enthusiastic amateur of the violoncello. Peter was greeted with unbounded admiration, especially when he played a concerto by Duport at ‘sight’ from a copy which was placed upside-down on his desk! He had to appear and again at the court, and the Princess Royal was so delighted with his own cello concerto that she handed him a poem and asked him to compose something for her. When she came to Mannheim, about twenty years later, she sent for Ritter and told him that she still sang his aria with great pleasure!

** 1808 - birth of Marius André Gueit (Hyères, France) d.1862
cellist, organist & composer

** 1889 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Manchester by soloists Lady Hallè and Alfredo Piatti

** 1906 - birth of Thelma Reiss (Plymouth, England) d.1991
cellist

** 1931 - birth of Rudolf Weinsheimer (Wiesbaden, Germany)
cellist, member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1956-1996 - and it was thanks to his initiative and enterprising spirit that the famous ‘12 Cellists’ group was founded!

** 1955 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals performed J.S. Bach - Solo Cello Suite No.3, in a live performance that was recorded

** 1957 - the second of 2 consecutive recitals in the York Festival (England) was given by Antonio Janigro, cello, and Veyron-Larcroix, harpsichord.

** 1987 - birth of Andrea Battistoni (Verona, Italy)
cellist, composer (oncl. a cello concertino) and conductor, director of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

3 July

** 1862 - birth of Friedrich Ernst Koch (Berlin) d.1927
cellist, music director (Kapellmeister), composer & professor

** 1872 - birth of Hans Kronold (Krakov, Poland) d.1922
cellist, orchestral, early recording artist & composer {based USA}

** 1890 - birth of Gilberto Crepax (Dolo, Italy) d.1970
cellist, orchestral principal cello, chamber musician & professor

** 1907 - on this day a performance took place at the Wigmore Hall, London, featuring Leonard Borwick piano, Karel Halíř violin, and Robert Hausmann cello

** 1923 - first British performance of Delius - Cello Concerto
soloist - Beatrice Harrison (Queen’s Hall, London)

** 1945 - a recital at the Wigmore Hall (London) was given by Vivian Joseph (cello) and Margaret Chamberlain (piano)

** 1956 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals performed J.S. Bach - Solo Cello Suite No.5, in a live performance that was recorded

** 1972 - in order to leave in Catalonia all the legacy he had in his house in El Vendrell, to which the master would surely no longer return, Pau Casals and his wife Marta created the “Pau Casals Foundation” on 3rd July, 1972

** 1969 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto in A minor in Paris, with the ORTF Orchestra (Paris) conducted by Girard - later released on DVD

** 1977 - first performance of Pierre Boulez - Messagesquisse for solo cello and six cellos
(La Rochelle, France)

4 July

** 1858 - birth of Marie Joseph Anatole Elijah of Riquet of Caraman, 19th Prince of Chimay (Paris) d.1937 {Joseph de Caraman-Chimay, the younger}
Aristrocat, French Olympic fencer, and very fine amateur cellist!

** 1867 - birth of Paul Michael (Auerbach, Germany)
cellist, member Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, royal chamber musician in Court f Dresden, original compositions for cello

 ** 1879 - on today’s date, a London performance of a type that was so common at the end of the 19th-^-century; it was held at 39 Philimore Gardens (therefore in all probability a ‘drawing room’ salon music concert) and the performers used to combine vocal and instrumental items, and sometimes together. The performers on this very day were:
Mrs Key (piano), General Cracroft (violin), Miss Florence Hemmings (cello) and Mrs MacGregor, Miss M. Bell, Miss Luard Selby and Rev. J. Graves (vocal).

** 1919 - British premiere of Bloch Schelomo (in cello-piano version)
May Mukle/cello and ?/piano (London)

** 1922 - cellist May Mukle  played Maurice Ravel's Sonata for violin and violoncello in concert in the presence of the composer himself

** 1993 - first performance of David Blake - Cello concerto, given by soloist Moray Welsh, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Lazarev in Cheltenham Town Hall, as part of the Cheltenham Festival
(commissioned by the BBC, duration c.25 mins)

5 July

** 1828 - birth of Gaetano Braga (Giulianova, Italy)
cellist, member Meyseder Quartet, composer

** 1896 - birth of Lauri Kennedy (Sydney) d.1985
cellist, orchestral principal cello  [father of cellist John Kennedy]

** 1924 - birth of János Starker (Budapest) d.2013
cellist & pedagogue

** 1950 - in a letter to her maid Clarinda, dated 5th July, 1950, cellist Guilhermina Suggia describes how, when she went to London in order to undergo surgery, during her stay in England a flock of admirers took the opportunity to pay her a last visit; even Queen Mary sent flowers and a note. Sadly she had little time to live at that moment (she died twenty-five days later).

** 1980 - first performance of Gordon Jacob - ‘Cello Serenade’ for solo cello, at the Harlow Playhouse , England, with soloist Ross Pople and given at a concert in honour of the composer's 85th birthday

** 1984 - birth of Iris Azquinezer (Madrid)
cellist, chamber music, unusual projects & composer

6 July

** 1678 - birth of Nicola Francesco Haym (Rome) d.1729
Italian librettist, cellist, composer and ancient coin expert!

** 1806 - Phil. Schindlöcker enters the Imperial Chapel, Vienna, as violoncellist

** 1878 - cellist Marie Geist performed on this day Carl Schroeder's Adagio for violoncello with harp and orchestra (in an exam concert…)

** 1905 - birth of Charles Houdret (Liege, Belgium) d.c.1964
cellist, conductor, composer & radio producer 

** 1962 - at the Cheltenham Festival (England) Jacqueline du Pre/cello gave a recital with Iris du Pre/piano, including Edmund Rubbra - Cello Sonata, Op.60 

** 1981 - first performance of Ginastera - Cello Concerto No.2
soloist - Aurora Nátola(Buenos Aires)

7 July

** 1762 - birth of Johann Georg Rauppe (Stettin, Germany)
cellist, opera orchestra principal cello,  orchestra principal cello

** 1867 - on this day cellist Graf performed a ‘Fantasy’ of Servais, with the orchestra of Sondhausen, probably conducted by Max Bruch

** 1883 - birth of Pierre Samazeuille (Bordeaux, France)
cellist, member of Bataille Quartet, concert appearances with famed musicians

** 1894 - in the special series of eleven concerts “Adelina Patti Concerts”, given at the Royal Albert Hall, London (all of which involved the famous vocalist Adelina Patti) the performance on this day included guests Madame Alice Gomez, Madame Antoinette Sterling, Mr Ben Davies and Mr Santley (vocal) with Madame Augarde (piano) and Master Jean Gerardy (cello) with the Royal Welsh Ladies’ Choir.

** 1907 - first performance of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Fantasiestück for cello and orchestra
(New Brighton, England)

** 1910 - birth of Elizabeth Cowling (USA) d.1997
cellist & professor

** 1923 - birth of Giacinto Caramia (Italy) d.2015
cellist, member of the San Carlo Theater and of the Alessandro Scarlatti orchestra; member of the Italian string trio, Teacher at the Salerno Conservatory 

** 1953 - last performance of ‘original’ version of Sullivan - Cello Concerto in D Major (orchestral material destroyed by fire in May 1964)
soloist - William Pleeth with Goldsbrough Orchestra, conducted by Charles Mackerras (BBC Third Programme live performance, London)

** 1954 - birth of Carter Brey (Montclair, New Jersey, USA)
cellist, principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic, chamber musician; professor at Curtis Institute of Music

** 1973 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Max Reger - Cello Sonata in F Major, Op. 78, featuring the cellist Claus Kanngiesser, with Nerine Barrett, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1978 - first performance of Ginastera - Cello Concerto No.1, Op.36 (1968)
soloist - Aurora Nátola (Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA)

** 1983 - birth of Adrien Frasse-Sombet (Ollioules, Var (department), France)
cellist

** 1991 - first performance of John Casken - Cello Concerto
soloist - Heinrich Schiff, in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival (Germany)

8 July

** 1749 - birth of Louis-Auguste-Joseph Janson (Valenciennes, France) d.after 1815 {brother of cellist Jean-Baptiste)
cellist, opera orchestra & composer

** 1844 - The young solo cellist Alfredo Piatti (22 years old) was already giving concerts around Italy and in Europe when he arrived in London, where by good fortune he became acquainted with Mendelssohn - together they played a sonata for cello and piano (it could have been either one!), Piatti playing so well that the celebrated composer sent him the following card on today’s date in 1844: “To Mr. Piatti with all gratitude for the pleasure you have given me playing my sonata this morning, and with my most sincere admiration of your wonderful talent”.

** 1877 - birth of Louis Fournier (Marseilles, France)
cellist, member of Parent Quartet {not related to famed cellist Pierre of same name}

** 1912 - birth of Florence Hooton (Scarborough, England) d.1988
cellist and professor

** 1945 - the New London Orchestra conducted by Constant Lambert, at the Cambridge Theatre (London), presented the first of two concerts featuring Pau Casals (cello) accompanied by Gerald Moore/Harriet Cohen (piano)

9 July

** 1816 - birth of Alexander Batta (Maastricht, Netherlands)  d. c1900-1902
cellist and composer {based Paris}

** 1879 - Of course it is, and always has been, necessary for concert artists to help in the promotion of their own career, but…it is rather unusual to find historical documents relating to this! However, here is one such case: Robert Hausmann wrote a letter from Berlin to the Royal Philharmonic Society in London, on 9th July, 1879, seeking out opportunities to continue performing in London. He wrote a very neat letter, although with imperfect English, with courteous salutations and interestingly he closed his communication (I haven’t corrected any of the English!):
“Will you be kind enouf to remember my violincello, when you arrange the programs for the next Philharmonie season? The best time for me, to go over to London next year the month of March will be I think.”

** 1903 - birth of Eleanor ‘Kitty’ Gregorson (Edinburgh) d.2004
cellist and cello teacher in Edinburgh; musician in the Reid Orchestra and with the BBC Scottish Orchestra

** 1925 - birth of Donald White (Richmond, U.S.A.) d.2005
cellist, orchestra musician {the first African American cellist to play in the Cleveland Orchestra}

** 1944 - birth of Dorian Rudnytsky (New York City)
cellist and composer, co-founder of a rock band “New York Rock & Roll Ensemble”

** 1945 - in a concert at the National Gallery of London, William Pleeth (cello) and Margaret Good (piano) gave a joint recital

** 1956 - birth of Georg Faust (Porz near Cologne, Germany) 
cellist, orchestra principal cello, artistic leader of the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic

** 1962- on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording Lalo - Cello Concerto in D minor and Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, in Watford (near London), with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

** 1965 - a recital at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod (Wales) was given by Mstislav Rostropovitch (cello).

10 July

** 1820 - birth of Louis Antoine Vidal (Rouen, France)
cellist & literary writer on the cello

** 1895 - birth of Carl Orff (Munich, Germany)
composer … and in his formative years (5+) he studied piano, organ and cello, and started composing (songs etc. while still at primary school!)

** 1927 - Pau Casals was given the title of ‘Adoptive Son’ (“hijo predilecto”) of El Vendrell (Tarragona, Catalonia) - he was given as a ceremony gift a special olive wood conductor baton!

** 1958 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals (cello) played in a live performance that was recorded of Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 and Beethoven: 7 Variations on "Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen", for Cello and Piano, WoO 46

** 1962- on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording (in London) Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Antal Dorati

11 July

** 1841 - birth of Daniël de Lange (Rotterdam, Holland) d.1918
composer, choral conductor, pianist, organist, teacher, music critic ….and cellist!

** 1868 - birth of Fritz Philipp (Mayence, Germany)
cellist, principal cello in the Court Theatre Orchestra at Mannheim

** 1878 - this day featured the debut concert of Eduard Rosenblum in Vienna - he trained as a cellist at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna between 1876 and 1879, where he had Karl Udel and Reinhold Hummer as teachers and his brother Arnold also studied.

** 1889 - 16-year old English cellist Maud Fletcher performed in a sextet of Brahms on this day with students from the Royal College of Music, London; the specialist musical press were quite strict on the performance:
“The performance  [...]  was, considering its formidable difficulties, highly creditable, and in the case of the first two movements, wholly excellent. The Scherzo was taken much too slowly - it would indeed be wonderful had it been otherwise - and the final Rondo was somewhat lacking in smoothness and precision” (MusW 1889, p. 477).

** 1892 - birth of Giorgio Federico Ghedini  (Cuneo, Italy) d.1965
composer and cellist

** 1958 - a recital at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod (Wales) was given by Paul Tortelier (cello), accompanied by Ivor Newton.

** 1965 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Zoltán Kodály - Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, featuring the cellist Leslie Parnas, with Jaime Laredo, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1973 - in a concert in the Concert Hall, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, Gretchen Miller was cellist in Edmund Rubbra - Cello Sonata Op.60

** 1986 - first complete Irish performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber - Variations
soloist - David Johnstone, with The Rubato Dance Company (Edmund Burke Hall, Dublin)

12 July

** 1675 - birth of Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco (Verona, Italy) d.1742
composer and cellist {based Italy-Germany-France}

** 1906 - on this day a performance took place at the Wigmore Hall, London, featuring Camille Saint-Saëns piano and Joseph Hollmann cello

** 1948 - in a concert at William III Orangery, Hampton Court Palace, London, Harvery Phillips (cello) was invited soloist performing Edmund Rubbra - Soliloquy, Op.57, with the Jacques Orchestra conducted by Reginald Jacques

** 1958 - composer Gordon Jacob finished his Elegy for Cello and Piano on this day, a work dedicated to Florence Hooton

** 1984 - birth of Marçal Ayats (Vic, Catalunya)
cellist, pop & light music specialist, professor and musical arranger (especially cello ensembles!)

** 1996 - first performance of William Bolcom - Solo Cello Suite No.1
(Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts, USA)

13 July

** 1861 - birth of Adolph Kapp (Weida, Thuringia, Germany)
cellist, band of the Thirty-first Infantry regiment at Altona as solo violoncellist, principal cello in the Laube Orchestra, principal cello and chamber music player for the municipal orchestra at Baden-Baden

** 1917 - first performance of Bridge - Cello Sonata (1913-17)
Felix Salmond/cello and Harold Samuel/piano (Wigmore Hall, London)

** 1947 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by cellist Barton Frank, with Eileen Flisser /piano

** 1950 - in a concert at the Cheltenham Festival (England), Edmund Rubbra - Cello Sonata, Op.60 and Rubbra - Piano Trio No.1, Op.68 was performed by the Rubbra-Gruenberg-Pleeth Trio

** 1952 - birth of Janet Horvath (Toronto, Canada)
cellist, orchestral front desk player, chamber musician, writer of articles on music and musicians, conference speaker and invited guest to seminars, an expert in the area of the medical problems of performing artists {daughter of cellist George (György) Horvath}

** 1956- on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording (in London) Dohnanyi - Konzertstück in D Major and Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Walter Süsskind (probably there were 2 recording days)

** 1962 - a recital at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod (Wales) was given by Gaspar Cassado (cello) and Chieko Hara (piano).

** 1985 - birth of Maja Kleszcz (Warsaw)
vocalist, cellist, music producer, author of theater and film music (former member of band Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa)

** 1991 - first performance of Alfred Schnittke - Madrigal, in memoriam Oleg Kagan for violin or for cello
(Kreuth, Germany)

** 1999 - first performance of John Casken - Darting the Skiff for cello and orchestra
(Cheltenham, England)

14 July

** 1862 - first performance of Piatti - Tème Varié       
soloist - Alfredo Piatti (Philharmonic Society Jubilee concert)

** 1899 - first performance of De Falla - Romanza for cello and piano
(private concert, at the home of Salvador Viniegra in Cádiz, Spain)

** 1923 - on this day writer Philip Heseltine (the real name of composer Peter Warlock) published descriptive notes in the ‘Weekly Westminster Gazette 2’ about the Delius Cello Concerto; maybe the first-ever notes about the then ‘new’ concero!

** 1941 - birt of Götz Teutsch (Sibiu, Transylvania, Rumania) 
cellist, orchestra principal cello (Berlin Phil Orch) - member of ‘The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic’ 

15 July

** 1825 - birth of (Johann August) Julius Goltermann (Hamburg, Germany) d.1876 [not be confused with the cellist-composer Georg Goltermann (1824 – 1898) ]
cellist and professor

** 1879 - cellist Marie Geist performed on this day Carl Schuberth's Romance op. 9 for solo cello (in an exam concert…)

** 1880 - cellist Marie Geist performed on this day Goltermann's - Cello Concerto in D minor, Op. 30, at a gala concert to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Wittelsbach family

** 1927 - birth of Rowland Sterlimg Pack (London, Ontario, Canada) d.1964
cellist, orchestra primcipal, organist and choirmaster

** 1956 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals (cello) played in a live performance that was recorded of Schumann: Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Op. 70

** 1959 - historical concert: at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals (cello), Wilhelm Kempff (piano), and Christian Ferras (violin) gave a live performance that was recorded of Mendelssohn - Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66

** 1965 - premiere of Bernstein ‘Chichester Psalms’ - (the work features an important orchestral principal cello solo}
conducted by the composer (Philharmonic Hall, New York City)

16 July

** 1667 - birth of Giuseppe Maria Jacchini (Bologna, Italy) d.1727
cellist and composer

** 1815 - birth of Heinrich August Bock (Berlin) d.1837
cellist

** 1858 - birth of Eugène Ysaye (Liege, Belgium) d.1931
violinist, conductor, composer … and occasional cellist!

** 1905 - on this day Marcel Ringeisen (born in 1885) obtained first cello prize at the Paris Conservatoire

** 1916 - Adele Clement, French cellist, took part as soloist in a symphonic festival in the Jardin du Luxembourg - the first of two performances

** 1975 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Sergei Rachmaninov - Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19, featuring the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, with Ian Hobson, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1982 - birth of Eric Jacobsen (Long Island, New York, USA)
conductor and cellist

17 July

** 1926 - birth of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (Breslau, Germany - today Wrocław, Poland) [mother of cellist Raphael Wallfisch]
cellist, orchestra principal cello - a survivor from Auschwitz Concentration Camp {based England}

** 1955 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier recorded (live?) Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, in London, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent

** 1956 - on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording Milhaud - Cello Concerto No.1, Op.136, and Prokofiev - Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.58 at the Kingsway Hall London, the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Walter Süsskind (probably there were 2 recording days in all, the other on the 14th)

** 1974 - Vasso Devetzi (piano) and Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) record Beethoven -  Variations on "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" for Cello and Piano
(Salle Wagram, Paris)

** 1988 - birth of Eros Jaca (Zaragoza, Spain)
cellist, chamber musician, contemporary music expert

18 July

** 1670 - birth of Giovanni Bonocini {Buoncini} (Modena, Italy) d.1747
cellist, singer, teacher & composer 

** 1853 - cellist Lisa (Lise) Barbier Cristiani almost surely gave her last concert on this date during a grueling Russian tour; this last appearance is recorded in Pyatigorsk on July 18, 1853, when Leo Tolstoy also heard the musician. At the end of September 1853 she arrived in Novocherkassk, fell ill with cholera and succumbed to the disease after just a few days. Edouard Thouvenel (1818–1866), then the French ambassador to Constantinople, brought her instrument back to Paris in 1857.
Lisa Cristiani was the first woman who dared to regularly perform publicly as a professional cellist. The cello was considered 'improper' for a woman, and there was also the need to hold the instrument between and with the legs (the attachment of a spike was only documented by François Servais from 1850 onwards…).

** 1883 - birth of Oscar Eberle d.1943 {son of cellist Oscar Eberle}
cellist, chamber musician & teacher

** 1916 - Adele Clement, French cellist, took part as soloist in a symphonic festival in the Jardin du Luxembourg - the second of two performances

** 1936 - last performance of the Pau Casals Orquestra, Barcelona

** 1956 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals performed Casals: El Cant dels Ocells (Song of the birds), in a live performance that was recorded

** 1959 - first performance of Milhaud - Cello sonata, Op.377
Vancouver, Canada)

. ** 1992 - Raphael Wallfisch was cello soloist, along with Tasmin Little/violin, in Johannes Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and cello in A minor, with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley {Prom Concert "In memoriam Charles Groves (10/3/1915 - 20/6/1992)”, Royal Albert Hall, London}

19 July

** 1835 - birth of Charles Ould (Romford, Essex, England)
cellist, member of the ‘Monday Popular Quartet’ and Gompertz String Quartet; member of the Queen’s Band

** 1930 - Felix Salmond was cello soloist in Lalo - Cello Concerto in D minor, in a broadcast recording, with Frank Bridge conducting the embryo ‘BBC Orchestra’

** 1936 - birth of Gerald Appleman (Los Angeles, California, USA)
cellist, orchestra principal cello & chamber musician

** 1944 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date by soloists Olive Zorian & Antonia Butler at the London Proms

** 1955 - first performance of Finzi -  Cello Concerto, Op.40     
soloist Christopher Bunting with the Hallé Orchestra, conducted by John Barbirolli (Cheltenham Music Festival)

** 1958 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals and Mieczyslaw Horszowski (piano) performed Brahms - Cello Sonata No.1 in E minor, in a live performance that was recorded

** 1973 - birth of Aldo Mata (Madrid)
cellist, orchestral principal cello, professor of cello & chamber music, baroque/classical music specialist, investigator and writer

** 1993 - Paul Watkins performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis

20 July

** 1744 - birth of Johnann Baptiste Mara (Berlin) {son of cellist Ignatz}
cellist

** 1849 - birth of Franz Fischer (Munich, Bavaria)
cellist, principal cellist in Bational Theatre Orchestra of Budapest, principal cello in Munich Orchestra, court capellmeister at Mannheim, latterly an opera conductor

** 1866 - birth of André Hekking (Bordeaux, France) d.1925
cellist & professor

** 1900 - Danish cellist Agga Fritsche received glowing words from her teacher Julius Klengel:
“Fräulein Fritsche is leaving the [Conservatory] as a cellist with unusual skill, after having strived to perfect herself with exemplary diligence and the greatest conscientiousness during her three years of study. She succeeded in doing this in the most pleasing way.…”

** 1918 - cellist Juan Ruiz-Casaux performed as soloist playing in one sole concert with orchestra Bruch - Kol Nidrei, Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto in A minor, and Boellman - Variations Symphoniques - (no more details at present - orchestra? city?)
He repeated the concert on 24th July.

** 1938 - In 1937 cellist Paul Hermann had settled in Paris, where he performed regularly as a soloist; however, the musical life of Holland remained important to him on account of his marriage to a Dutch lady. On this day in 1938 he played a concert for the French radio in Paris with a programme exclusively of Dutch music (cello works of Andriessen, Badings, Hijman, Van Lier, Pijper and Vredenburg). 

** 1948 - Douglas Cameron was cello soloist with the Chelsea Symphony Orchestra (? work ?). Ernest Frank also gave vocal solos in the same concert.

** 1956 - first performance of Kenneth Leighton - Cello Concerto 
(Cheltenham, England)

** 1958 - last public concert performance of Beatrice Harrison
(Coventry Cathedral Festival of the Arts, England - performance televised)

** 1974 - Thomas Igloi performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra , conducted by Charles Grove

** 1984 - release date / premiere, in U.S.A., of the film “Electric Dreams”; American-British science fiction romantic comedy film set in San Francisco that depicts a love triangle among a man, a woman, and a personal computer. It was directed by Steve Barron and stars Lenny Von Dohlen, Virginia Madsen, Maxwell Caulfield, and the voice of Bud Cort. A love triangle soon develops among Miles, his computer (who later identifies himself as Edgar), and Miles's neighbor, an attractive cellist named Madeline Robistat (Virginia Madsen). Upon hearing her practising the Minuet in G major (BWV Anh. 114 from Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach) on her cello through an air vent connecting both apartments, Edgar promptly elaborates a parallel variation of the piece, leading to an improvised duet. Believing it was Miles who had engaged her in the duet, Madeline begins to fall in love with him though she has an ongoing relationship with fellow musician Bill.

21 July

** 1847 - birth of Victor (Alexander Marie) Mirecki Larramat (Tarbes, France) d.1921
cellist, chamber music & professor {based Spain}

** 1848 - birth of Domenici Tescari (Vicenzo, Italy)
cellist, cello teacher at the Instituto Musicale of Genoa & composer {later based in the U.S.A.}

** 1867 - an interesting review appeared on today’s date, detailed as ‘London Music Halls’ Era (London); interesting because later in his career the same performer was famed for doing exactly the opposite!  It said:
“The concert introduced a very young, but very good, violoncellist, Herr Auguste Van Biene. He plays very smoothly, and with thoroughly unaffected expression.”

** 1899 - birth of Ernest Miller Hemingway (Oak Park, Illinois, USA) d.1961
writer & amateur cellist

** 1943 - first performance of Marrhijs Vermeulen - Cello Sonata No.2 (written 1927/1938)
performed by Paul Tortelier & Lia Pala (Paris)

** 1962 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Mendelssohn - Cello Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 45, featuring the cellist David Soyer and Ruth Laredo, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

22 July

** 1847 - premiere of the opera ‘I masnadieri ‘(The Bandits or The Robbers) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, on 22nd July 1847 with Verdi conducting the first two performances. The ‘preludio’ features a most important cello solo for the principal cellist.

** 1901 - Alfredo Piatti had passed away on 18th July, 1901, and the funeral took place on this day 22nd July; four professors played the ‘Andante’ from Schubert's Quartet in D minor, according to Piatti's express wish, and a week later they visited the Lochis chapel again, and made a pledge to perform the Quartet annually on the anniversary of the master's death. 

** 1916 - in the Central Model Schools (Dublin) a concert was given that included a prizewinning sonata for cello and piano by Dr. E. Norman Hay.

** 1974 - Joaquín Vidaechea/cello and Esteban Sánchez/piano perform the Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor (1925) of Gaspar Cassadó at the Caja de Ahorros, San Sebastian, Basque country - the performance was recorded by Spanish National Radio

** 1977 - performance of Luis Navidad - Nocturno for cello and piano, and Evaristo Fernández Blanco - Melodía: recorded by Spanish National Radio by Carlos Baena/cello and Ana María Gorostiaga/piano
(Casa de la Readio, RNE, Madrid) piano [they also performed Cassadó - Sérénade]

** 1992 - Timothy Hugh was cello soloist in Henri Dutilleux - 'Tout un monde lointain ...' {Proms premiere}, with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jan Pascal Tortelier {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1995 - Colin Carr was cello soloist in William Walton - Cello Concerto, with BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1996 - Russian cellist Nina Kotova made her concert debut in the West at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London

** 1997 - Steven Isserlis performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms
with theBBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Tadaaki Otaka

23 July

** 1923 - first British performance of Delius - Cello Concerto (1920-21)     
soloist Beatrice Harrison, conducted by the composer

** 1977 - Ralph Kirshbaum performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms (he also played in 1991 & 1999)
with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles Grove

** 1980 - Heinrich Schiff was scheduled to be the cello soloist in Robert Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor {reorchestrated Dmitry Shostakovich}, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London} - HOWEVER, due to industrial action by the Musicians' Union this concert was cancelled!

** 1990 - Rocco Filippini was cello soloist in Luigi Boccherini - Cello Concerto in D major, G479 {Proms premiere}, with I Virtuosi di Roma conducted by Angelo Stefanato-violin/director {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1994 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Pierre Boulez - Messagesquisse pour 7 violoncelles, featuring the cellists Siegfried Palm, Adam Satinsky, Sophie Shao, Sofia Zappi, Clive Greensmith, Hai-Ye Ni,  and Robert Maine
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

24 July

** 1825 - birth of Guillaume Paque (Brussels) d.1876
cellist, orchestra principal cello, teacher & composer

** 1918 - cellist Juan Ruiz-Casaux performed as soloist playing in one sole concert with orchestra Brich - Kol Nidrei, Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto in A minor, and Boellman - Variations Sinfomiques - orchestra? city? He had also played the programme four days previously.

** 1947 - Anthony Pini was cello soloist in Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1968 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Ravel - Sonata for Violin and Cello, featuring the cellist Paul Tortelier, with Hidetaro Suzuki, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1971 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Donald Francis Tovey - Cello Sonata in F Major, Op. 4, featuring the cellist Miklòs Perènyi, with Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1993 - Mischa Maisky was cello soloist in Dmitry Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat major, with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

25 July

** 1775 - birth of August Daniel Mangold (Darmstadt, Germany) d.1842
cellist (originally clarinettist), member of the private band of Bernhard of Offenbach, member Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, principal cello (“concertmeister”) Grand Ducal Orchestra of Darmstadt

** 1825 - birth of {Johann August} Julius Goltermann (Hamburg, Germany) d.1876
cellist, musician in Hamburg Theatre, professor Prague Conservatoire, occasional composer for cello (not the same cellist as the more famed Georg Goltermann!)

** 1878 - birth of Louis Hasselmans (France) d.1957
cellist & conductor

** 1905 - on this day occurred the strange and sad disappearance of professional German cellist Johannes Klingenberg in the Turols - most probably murdered and robbed according to contemporary reports, and no traces ever found ; he was in his time a much-loved cellist

** 1951 - cellist Leonard Rose performed an ample recital programme with pianist Leonid Hambro at Juilliard Concert Hall, New York: 
they presented Beethoven - Sonata in D Major, Op.102/2 // Debussy - Sonata // Kodály - Sonata, Op.4 // Brahms - Sonata in F Major, Op.99

** 1964 - Amaryllis Fleming was cello soloist in Camille Saint‐Saëns - Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert - First Night of the Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1974 - probable American premiere of Brahms - Cello Sonata in G Major, Op.78 {reworked by Brahms [or Paul Klengel?] from his Violin Sonata in D Major}
Janos Starker/cello and Buchbinder/piano

** 1989 - cellist Daniil Shafran was featured guest soloist in the 1989 Gala Concert of the Kirishima Festival in Tokyo; in this programme he performed the Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, conducted by T. Ono

** 1993 - first performance of Luis de Pablo - Ritornello, for eight cellos (1992)
cellists: Octeto de Violoncellos Conjunto Ibérico, conducted by Elias Erizcuren (Real Colegiata de San Isidoro at the Festival de Música Española del Siglo XX, Madrid, Spain)

26 July

** 1836 - birth of Bruno Wilfert (Schmalzegrube, Saxony, Germany)
cellist, orchestral principal, chamber musician and composer {at first a violinist}

** 1928 - birth of Marçal Cervera (Santiago de Cuba) d.2019
cellist and viola da gamba performer, principal cellist of the Orchester de Chambre de Lausanne, member of the Beethoven Piano Quartet, teacher in the conservatories of Freiburg and Lausanne {based in Barcelona}

** 1945 - on today’s date composer John Ernest Moeran and cellist Peers Coetmore were married

** 1947 - birth of Andrzej Wróbel (Nieporęt, Poland)
cellist, chamber musician and teacher

** 1948 -Paul Tortelier was cello soloist in both Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra and Richard Strauss - Don Quixote, Op 35, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1953 - birth of  George Kennaway (Edinburgh)
cellist, conductor, researcher, lecturer, teacher and musicologist

** 1988 - Timothy Hugh was cello soloist in Benjamin Britten - Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op 68, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Pritchard {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

27 July

** 1780 - birth of Mauro Giuliani (Naples, Italy) d.1829
composer, guitarist & cellist

** 1784 - birth of George Onslow  (Clermont-Ferrand, France) d.1853
composer, pianist & fine amateur cellist

** 1877 - birth of Ernst von Dohnányi (Pozsony, today Slovakia) d.1960
composer, conductor, pianist & cellist

** 1918 - birth of Leonard (Joseph) Rose (Washington DC) d.1984
cellist, orchestra principal cello & teacher

** 1957 - first performance of Earle Brown - Music for cello and piano
(Darmstadt, Germany)

** 1958 birth of Dorota Pukownik (Poznań, Poland)
cellist, orchestra cello, chamber musician & professor

** 1970 - Maurice Gendron was cello soloist in William Walton - Cello Concerto, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

28 July

** 1808 - birth of Charles Lucas (Salisbury, England) d.1869
cellist, composer, publisher, conductor and conservatoire principal

** 1817 - birth of Hippolyte Prosper Seligmann (Paris) d.1882
cellist & composer of lighter music

** 1942 - birth of Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (Tokyo)
cellist & professor {based U.S.A.}

** 1968 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Leon Kirchner - Concerto for Violin, Cello, Ten Winds and Percussion, featuring the cellist Robert Sylvester, and Pina Carmirelli, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

29 July

** 1838 - birth of Jules Lasserre (Tarbes, France) d.1906
cellist, orchesta principal cello, composer {based in England}

** 1856 - birth of Heinrich Bast (Germershein, Rhinelands, Germany)
cellist, member of court orchestras of Munich and Mannheim, principal cello of the Bilse Orchestra of Berlin, principal cello in the Philharmonic Orchestra and teacher at the Conservatoire at Ham burg; professor of the Royal Irish Academy of Music at Dublin.

** 1935 - birth of Bonnie Hampton (Berkeley, California, USA)
cellist, chamber music player and professor

** 1946 - birth of David Geringas (Vilnius, Lithuania)
cellist & conductor

** 1947 - Zara Nelsova was cello soloist in Richard Strauss - Don Quixote, Op 35, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1951 - Marlboro Music Festival - Eugene Eicher was cello soloist in Luigi Boccherini - Cello Concerto in B-flat Major, G. 482, with The Marlboro Chamber Players, Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Louis Moyse
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1962 - birth of Martin McCarrick (Luton, Bedfordshire, England)
cellist, keyboardist, guitarist and composer

** 1966 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Elliott Carter - Cello Sonata, featuring the cellist Peter Schenkman, with Michael Oelbaum, Piano
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

 ** 1968 - birth of Paavo Lötjönen (Finland)
‘modern’ cellist (Apocalyptica)

** 1991 - Christopher Van Kampen was cello soloist in HK Gruber - Cello Concerto {Proms premiere}, with London Sinfonietta conducted by Lothar Zagrosek {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1993 - Alexander Baillie was cello soloist in Frederick Delius - Cello Concerto, with BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1995 - Boris Pergamenshikov was cello soloist in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Lazarev {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

30 July

 ** 1808 - birth of Frederick Nicholls Crouch (London) d.1896
cellist, member of the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ancient Concerts, and the Royal Italian Opera all in London; important composer (vocal/opera) but no known works for cello {later based in U.S.A.}

** 1950 - A sad event: Suggia faced her imminent death with the clear approach that distinguished her entire life. She made her final journey to her home in Porto, where she set about making arrangements: She selected the dress she wished to be buried in; she had her hair done and her fingernails painted. Finally she lay down to die, instructing her maid to place her beloved Montagnana cello on the bed alongside her. It was the night of July 30th, 1950.  Suggia died later that same night.

** 1977 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Zoltán Kodály - Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, featuring the cellist Johannes Goritzki, with Yan Pascal Tortelier, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1986 - Marlboro Music Festival - performance of Ravel - Sonata for Violin and Cello, featuring the cellist Alexander Baillie, with Joshua Bell, Violin
(Marlboro, Vermont, U.S.A.)

** 1988- on this day cellist Janos Starker recorded Kodaly - Solo Cello Sonata, Op.8, in Tokyo (it was his second recording of the same work there; he also recorded it in Tokyo in 1970!

** 1989 - first performance of Arvo Pärt - Fratres in version for cello and piano
(Hitzacker, Germany)

31 July

** 1828- birth of François-Auguste Gevaert (Huysse, Belgium) d.1908 
professor, editor & composer related to the cello world 

** 1919 - On this day in 1919 Felix Salmond arrived at Edward Elgar’s Sussex retreat house ‘Brinkwells’ for a short stay, so that he and Elgar could work intensively on it. After tea they went through the Concerto, and after dinner they returned to it. From Lady Elgar’s diary we learn that following breakfast the next day, a further run-through took place, and that “Mr Felix” was “such a delightful visitor.” Elgar took Salmond fishing, with no success; after dinner more work was done on the Concerto; and Elgar then offered (1st August) Salmond the premiere of the work. The cellist was so thrilled that he hardly slept that night. More work was accomplished on the following morning, and Salmond left after lunch.

** 1945 - Anthony Pini performs the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Proms (and later twice in 1947, 1948, 1949, twice in 1950, 1951, 1956)
this time with theLondon Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Basil Cameron

** 1953 - birth of Hugh (Alexander) McDowell (England) d.2018
‘modern’ cellist - an English cellist best known for his membership of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and the pop world.

** 1962 - Paul Tortelier was cello soloist in Dmitry Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat major, with BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}

** 1996 - Steven Isserlis was cello soloist in Dmitry Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat major, with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth {Prom Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London}