1 March

** 1831 - Carl Leopold Boehm started this day an important position, upon his appointment for life in the chapel of the art-loving Prince Fürstenberg at Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

** 1832 - birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Grützmacher (Dessau, Anhalt, Germany) d.1903
cellist, composer, arranger & teacher

** 1875 - first performance of Monasterio - Romanza for cello (written 1874)
Víctor Mirecki Larramat/cello and ?/piano (Madrid)

** 1894 - in a “Miss Adelina de Lara’s Pianoforte Recital” in London, special featured guests were Edward Howell (cello) and Mr Arthur Oswald (vocal)

** 1899 - birth of Marion Cumbo (New York) d.1990
cellist, chamber musician & teacher

** 1931 - Hans Kindler (cello) and Myra Hess (piano) gave a recital in Lycoming (England)

** 1935 - Beatrice Harrison returned to the White House, offering works by Roger Quilter, Frederick Delius, Jean Baptiste Senaillé, Édouard Lalo, and Herbert Hughes

** 1950 - first performance of Prokofiev - Cello Sonata in C Major, Op.119      
Mstislav Rostropovich/cello and S. Richter/piano (Moscow, Small Hall of Moscow Conservatory)

** 1952 - a concert recital took place (venue unsure) on today’s date, shared between Marie Dare (cello) - Arvon Davies (piano), and Maria Piccaver (soprano) - Mary Ryan (flute)

** 1963 - in an obituary by the "Times" about the cellist May Mukle the following was stated:
"By the turn of the century she was fully recognized not only as an outstanding musician but as one of the most remarkable cellists this country had produced. Women cellists were very rare in those days and it was largely due to her success that the repertoire developed so quickly and the instrument became so popular with both sexes. Whether as soloists, or in one of the various ensembles she adorned, she travelled extensively in all five Continents, finding herself as much at home with native audiences in remote African towns as in large sophisticated music clubs in Australia and the United States " (Times March 1, 1963).

** 1995 - release date of the grand recording project “12 Hommages à Paul Sacher pour Violoncelle” by cellists Thomas Demenga and Patrick Demenga (a double CD set) - understood to be the first complete recording ever of these 12 works dedicated to the Swiss counductor, contemporary music enthusiast and music organizer Paul Sacher on the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1976.

** 1999 - first performances of Johnstone - Pilgrim’s Rest; Johnstone - Danxas de Galicia; Johnstone - Lament; and Johnstone - The Prisonner - all these for solo cello
soloist - David Johnstone (“O Camiño de Santiago; A Música do milenio”, Aula de Cultura de Caixa Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain)

2 March

** 1861 - birth of Anton Hegner (Denmark) d.1915
cellist & composer  {based Denmark-USA}

** 1887 - Julius Klengel (cello) and Miss Emily Winant (vocal) were invited soloists with the London Symphony Orchestra

** 1899 - birth of Harald Søltoft Agersnap (Denmark) d.1982
composer, conductor, cellist, and pianist

** 1937 - in the Meister-Saal (Berlin) a “Sonaten-Abend” took place with Hans Andreae (cello) and Renata Borgatti (piano)

** 1956 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier finished recording with violinist David Oistrakh the Brahms - Double Concerto, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Alceo Galliera, at the Kingsway Hall, London (started on 29th February ’56)

** 1963 - at the Maison Francaise, Oxford (England), the Oxford University Musical Club and Union organized a recital with Moray Welsh (cello) and Roger Vignoles, (piano), including Edmund Rubbra - Cello Sonata, Op.60

** 1967 - Joan Dickson was cello soloist in a Reid Orchestral Concert - she performed Kenneth Leighton - Cello Concerto with The Reid Orchestra, conducted by Sidney Newman

** 1984 - Felix Schmidt was cello soloist with the London Concert Orchestra, conducted by Edward Heath, at the London Barbican (this was first of a tour programme, 2-11 March 1984).

** 1989 - the premiere of Karel Husa’s Cello Concerto was performed by Lynn Harrell, with the USC Symphony was conducted by Daniel Lewis (the work underwent a certain revision, reaching its definitive form in November 1991)

3 March

** 1823 - on this day English cellist Robert Lindley performed with the double bassist Dragonetti a sonata of Corelli (in London)

** 1863 - birth of George Wörl (Franzenstahl, Bohemia)
cellist, posts in Vienna, Ziirich and Carlsbad; principal cello ( = chamber virtuoso) in court chapel and teacher of the conservatoire at Sondershausen; original compositions and arrangements

** 1890 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Berlin by soloists Ludwig Bleuer and Bruno Steindel with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

** 1894 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Mademoiselle Rose Olitzka (vocal) and Hugo Becker (cello), including the first performance of Walter Wesche, Ballad for Orchestra, 'The Legende of Excalibur'.

** 1898 - birth of Kazimierz Blaschke (Stryj,Poland)
cellist, conductor of chamber orchestras and choirs, educator.

** 1916 - Adele Clement, French cellist, gave a concert for the benefit of the Russian wounded, up to that point, in World War I.

** 1926 - first performance of Vierne - Cello Sonata, Op.27
Fernand Pollain/cello and Maguerite Long/piano (rue Rochechouart, Paris)

** 1927 - birth of Martin Lovett (Stoke Newington, north London) d.2020 {son of cellist Sam Lovett}
cellist & chamber musician

** 1934 - birth of Jimmy Garrison (Miami, FL, USA) d.1976
jazz bassist & cellist

** 1941 - birth of David Darling (Elkhart, Indiana, USA) d.2021
cellist, pop, new-age, multi-string cellos

** 1951 - first performance of Murrill - Cello Concerto No.2      
soloist - Vera Canning with BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Basil Cameron (Henry Wood Birthday Promenade Concert)

** 1956 - cellist Bernard Michelin gives the premiere of the Cello Concerto by Marie-Brigitte Gauthier with the Pasdeloup Orchestra under the direction of Jacques Michon at the Salle Pleyel, Paris

** 1967 - Homage to Henry Purcell / Inaugural concert to mark the opening of the Purcell Room, presented by the Greater London Council by arrangement with the Apollo Society and given by April Cantelo and Robert Tear (vocals), Raymond Leppard (harpsichord) and Bernard Richards (cello)

** 1976 - birth of Karolina Jaroszewska {Jaroszewska-Rajewska} (Poznań, Poland)
cellist

** 1981 - composer Gordon Jacob finished his Octet for Eight Violoncellos on this day, a work dedicated to Florence Hooton

4 March

** 1775 - birth of Robert Lindley (Rotherham, England) d.1855
cellist / orchestral principal cello, professor

** 1841 - birth of Friedrich Hilpert (Nuremburg, Germany) d.1896
cellist, court ‘chamber virtuoso’, orchestra principal cello & music arranger

** 1886 - birth of Paul Bazelaire (Sedan, France) d.1958
cellist, arranger and pedagogue

** 1910 - the solo cellist Alexander Barjansky performed the Lalo Cello Concerto with the Wiener Concertverein

** 1922 - Ruth Waddell was solo cellist, along with Camillo Ritter (violin) and M. Grierson (piano), in Beethoven - Triple Concerto in C Major, Op.56, with The Reid Orchestra conducted by Donald Francis Tovey, at the Usher Hall (Edinburgh).

** 1936 - first performance of Enescu - Cello Sonata No.2 in G minor      
Diran Alexanian/cello with composer at piano at the École Normale de Musique in Paris

** 1943 - the Oxford Subscription Concerts presented the Oxford Orchestral Society with soloists Henry Holst (violin) and Anthony Pini (cello).

** 1946 - birth of Ralph Kirshbaum (Denton, Texas, USA)
cellist

** 1970 - birth of Angel García Jermann (Marl, Germany)
Spanish-German cellist, orchestra principal cello, soloist and professor

** 1997 - first performance of Erkki-Sven Tüür - Cello Concerto 
(Lausanne, Switzerland)

5 March

** 1765 - birth of Joseph Muntzberger {Muntz-Berger} (Brussels) d.1844
cellist (opera) & professor {based Paris}

** 1809 - first performance of Beethoven - Cello Sonata No.3 in A Major, Op.69
(Vienna)

** 1873 - birth of Walter Schilling (Bad Elster, Germany)
cellist, member Winderstein's Orchestra at Leipzig, principal cello of the Society of Friends of Music at Lubeck, member of court orchestra at Karlsruhe and teacher at the conservatoire there; royal chamber musician/principal cello Dresden Opera Orchestra, member of the Lewinger Quartet

** 1884 - birth of Marguerite Caponsachi (Bordeaux, France)
cellist, solo tours around Europe {later known as ‘Madame Caponsachi-Zeisler’}

** 1887 - birth of Heitor Villa-Lobos (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) d.1959
composer, conductor & cellist

** 1901- at the Liverpool Philharmonic Society (England) featured soloists were Madame Lillian Blauvert (vocal) and Mr Hausmann (cello).

** 1912 - birth of Frank Miller (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) d.1986
cellist, orchestral principal cello & conductor

** 1933 - first {public} performance of Barber - Cello Sonata, Op.6
Orlando Cole/cello and composer at piano (League of Composers concert, New York)

** 1925 - The Oxford Orchestral Society organized an interesting programme, with Beatrice Harrison (cello) performing the first Oxford performances of Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85, and the first English performance of Max Reger - ‘Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Mozart’, completed with Braithwaite - ‘Snow Picture’.

** 1927 - Norina Semino (cello) and Mascardi Quintavalle (piano) gave a recital at the Wigmore Hall (London), also assisted by Mannucci (cello)

** 1934 - first performance of Arnold Bax - Cello Concerto       
soloist - Gaspar Cassadó with London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hamilton Harty (London - Queen’s Hall)

** 1950 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by cellist Madeline Foley, with Paul Ulanovsky /piano

** 1951 - in a concert in the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, John Clapham (cello) was invited soloist performing Edmund Rubbra - Soliloquy, Op.57, with the University College Orchestra conducted by Ian Parrott

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

** 1967 - first performance of Lukas Foss - Cello Concerto
(Carnegie Hall, New York, USA)

** 1977 - first performance of Ross Lee Finney - the first movement of the Narrative in Two Movements, for cello and 14 instruments
(Urbana, Illinois, USA)

** 1987 - birth of Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (Zwickau, Germany)
cellist

** 1999 - Release date (premiere screened in U.S.A.) of the film “Cruel Intentions”
directed by Roger Cumble, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon 
Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her half-brother Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), two vicious step-siblings of an elite Manhattan prep school make a wager. It is about Sebastian, an accomplished Don Juan, sleeping with Annette (Reese Witherspoon), a young woman who wants to remain a virgin until her marriage. If Sebastian loses, Kathryn will keep his Jaguar, but if he wins ... he will have her. Sebastian starts working on Annette with his strategies, even with the help of his half-sister. The latter, meanwhile, as a first step encourages Cecile to establish a relationship with Ronald, her cello teacher, but the latter is too embarrassed to even be able to give her a kiss. 

6 March

** 1660 - birth of Francesco II d'Este {Duke of Modena and Reggio} (Modena, Italy) d.1694
Aristocracy - supporter of ‘the cello’

** 1880 - the Cello Concerto in A minor of Robert Scuhmann was heard for only the second time in Britain, when it was performed by the soloist Robert Hausmann {Crystal Palace, London}

** 1880 - birth of Herbert Withers (London)
cellist, activities as soloist (especially recital)

** 1885 - birth of {Joseph Charles} Rosario Bourdon (Longueuil, Canada) d.1961
cellist, violinist, conductor, arranger & composer

** 1902 - birth of Joyce Sands, born Feldtmann (Clairmont, Western Australia) d.1984
cellist, chamber musician

** 1906 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Cologne by soloists Bram Eldering & Pablo Casals

** 1908 - first performance of Bridge - Two Pieces for cello and piano (Elégie & Scherzo)
(Kensington Town Hall, London)

** 1924 - first performance of Koechlin - Cello Sonata, Op.66 (1917)
M.L.Laggé/cello and Marius-François Gaillard/piano (Concert SMI, Salle des Agriculteurs, Paris)

** 1925 - birth of Eleonore Schoenfeld (Marinor, Slovenia) d.2007 
cellist, recording artist & pedagogue

** 1949 - a fateful day for Gaspar Cassadó….the Casals disciple Diran Alexanian wrote a letter to the New York Times, published on 6th March, 1949, protesting against Cassadó's positive concert reviews reception in the press. Upon learning of Cassadó's appearance in New York, Alexanian had written a letter to Casals. Alexanian included Casals' reply in his letter to the newspaper, and shadows of doubt were placed on Cassadó’s loyalties during World War II when the artist was permanently living in Italy. Much damage was done to his North American career and recording contracts cancelled. Casals did not come to his aid, as did several other important musicians during the 1950s.

** 1969 - first performance of John Gardner - Partita for Solo Cello, Op.98 
(Cardiff, Wales)

 ** 1999 - Miren Zubeldia/cello and Pablo López Callejo/piano gave the premiere performance of Francisco García Álvarez - ‘Introduction and Divertimento’ (1998), and also performed Emilio Otero Palacio - Sonata for cello and piano, in a concert recorded live by Spanish National Radio
Auditorio de la Escuela Superior de la Marina Civil, Santander, Cantabria, Spain

7 March

** 1740 - Christ. Röttig enters the Imperial Chapel, Vienna, as violoncellist

** 1919 - birth of George Neikrug (New York)
cellist & professor

** 1921 - birth of Mirko Dorner (Budapest) d.2004
cellist, orchestra principal cello,composer and painter {based Germany}

** 1930 - the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Queen's Hall (London) gave a performance conducted by the composer Frank Bridge, featuring the soloists Arthur Catterall (violin) and Lauri Kennedy (cello).

** 1946 - birth of {Sir} Clive Gillinson (Bangalore, India)
cellist,finance director & board of directors of symphony orchestras, executive and artistic director of major concert halls {based U.S.A.}

** 1954 - An interesting recital given by Gaspar Cassadó with Helmuth Barth, piano
Programme: Marcello - Sonata No. 4 in a minor // Couperin - Pastorale // Couperin -I Cherubini // Beethoven - "Magic Flute" variations [which set is unclear] // Strauss - Sonata // Dvorak - Indian Lament // Chopin - Minute Waltz // Fauré - Aprés une Rêve // Cassadó - Requiebros

** 1955 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, in Cologne, with the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester conducted by Hans Rosbaud

** 1971 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Marc Johnson, with Carolyn Pope /piano

** 1986 - birth of Jan Stokłosa (Krakow, Poland)
composer, arranger, cellist, keyboardist & conductor

8 March

** 1813 - cellists Robert Lindley and Charles Jane Ashley performed together in a string quintet of Boccherini at a ‘Philharmonic Concert’, along with Salmon, Cudmore and Sherrington, at the Old Argyll Rooms, London (which later burned down).

** 1893 - a solo performance was given by French cellist Marguerite (Anastasie) Baude in the Salle Erard in Paris

** 1901 - Was the following actually planned, or an incredible co-incidence?! The initial Boston performances of the Eugen d’Albert Cello concerto in C Major with Alwin Schroeder as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra took place on the very same dates [8 and 9 March] that the work received in its first New York hearings with the dedicatee Hugo Becker as soloist at the Carnegie Hall (Philharmonic Society). Thus BOTH Becker and Schroeder can be credited with giving the US premiere of the work!

** 1923 - first performance of Bax - Sonatina in D minor for cello and piano
Thelma Reiss/cello and Harriet Cohen/piano (Wigmore Hall, London)

** 1925 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date by soloists Paul Kochanski & Felix Salmond with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Walter

** 1932 - birth of Erling Blöndal Bengtsson (Copenhagen) d.2013
cellist, recording artist & professor

** 1932 - birth of Medea Abrahamyan (Ereván, Armenia) d.2021
cellist, specialist in contemporary works byArmenian composers, many of which have been dedicated to her.

** 1940 - cellist Marcel Hubert gave a recital at New York Town Hall; the publicity leading up to the event stated that he was “one of the great ‘cellists of today”

** 1945 - birth of Christine Walevska (Los Angeles, USA)
cellist and teacher

** 1959 - a recital at the Philips Hall, Clonskeagh (Ireland), presented by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, was given by Amadeo Baldovino

** 1972 - first performance of Krzysztof Penderecki - Cello Concerto No.1
(Baltimore, USA)

** 1981 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Robert Newkirk, with George Manos /piano

** 1997 - first performance of Michael Nyman - Double Concerto for Saxophone, Cello and Orchestra
(London)

9 March

** 1742 - birth of Jean-Baptiste Janson (Valenciennes, France) d.1803 {brother of cellist Louis-Auguste-Joseph)
cellist & composer

** 1742 - birth of Carl Monhaupt (Hamburg, Germany)
cellist, orchestra principal cello

** 1831 - birth of Morris Steinert (Scheinfeld, Bavaria, Germany) d.1912
A music merchant who played piano, organ, flute, cello and violin. After moving to the U.S.A. he opened, in New Haven in 1861, a music store selling used instruments and sheet music. After a a collegial and friendly relationship with William Steinway for nearly 25 years, he eventually he sold pianos of his own manufacture. In 1894 Morris Steinert was persuaded by a group of New Haven amateur musicians (many of the men of whom were also German-Americans) to form an orchestra. Steinert consented and so the group started rehearsals upstairs above his piano store. Incredibly, in a little over two decades the group was gradually transformed from a mere local band into an accomplished symphony orchestra of the U.S.! So our hobby cellist can be credited as founder of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra!

** 1886 - first performance of Saint-Saëns - Carnival of the Animals {including for cello ‘The Swan’} (Paris)

** 1891 - first performance of David Popper - Cello Concerto No.3 in G Major, Op.59
soloist - David Popper with Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Karl Goldmark (Budapest)

** 1894 - first performance of Herbert - Cello Concerto No.2, Op.30
soloist - the composer (New York)

** 1897 - the famous music critic Eduard Hanslick was present at the Viennese premiere of Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104, and he wrote about the new work in the Neue Freie Presse, on 9th March 1897:
“Dvorak has written a magnificent work which has brought to an end the stagnation of violoncello literature. [...] Its melodic invention with unique, magical, south Slav nuances is well grounded in consistent contrapuntal treatment and masterful orchestration. In its broad but crystal-clear structure, the concerto introduces a number of surprisingly effective ideas – such as we have come to expect from Dvorak; I recall, for example, the flute trill which, in the second movement, is so exquisitely woven into the cello cantilena. As always, in this concerto, too, the violoncello is at its most beautiful and most natural in its energetic bass or lyrical baritone register, especially in the gentle Andante. The piece also incorporates the inevitable passages where we are given the chance to admire the technical skills of the virtuoso, but these lack beauty: the fast chromatic sixth-interval runs at the end of the first movement; the long demisemiquaver passages in the extremely high positions in the finale, and so on. The concerto’s soloist Mr Hugo Becker has further consolidated and heightened the glory he deserves. When Dvorak shares his triumph with Becker, there is plenty for both of them.”

** 1898 - Edmund van der Straeten received nice words on this day from famous cellist Alfredo Piatti about his new publication “The Technics of Violoncello Playing”; Piatti wrote:
“Dear Sir,--- I received the book you kindly sent me on The Technics of Violoncello playing, which I found excellent, particularly for beginners, which naturally was your scope. Yours sincerely, Alfred Piatti” [Cadenabbia, Lake of Como, March 9th, 1898]
David Popper also dated a nice response…

** 1904 - Pablo Casals official New York debut concerto
Strauss - Don Quixote (Carnegie Hall, New York)

** 1916 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date by soloists Fritz Kreisler & Pablo Casals with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Damrosch

** 1939 - birth of Rohan de Saram (Sheffield, England)
cellist

** 1992 - David Geringas/cello and Gerhard Oppirz/piano made a live recording for Spanish National Radio of Gaspar Cassadó - Requiebros for Cello and Piano (pub.1931)
Sala ‘Juan de Villanueva’, Museo del Prado, Madrid

** 1993 - first performance of Ennio Morricone - Second Concerto for flute, cello and orchestra 
(Turin, Italy)

10 March

** 1794 - birth of Olive-Charlier Vaslin (Montreuil-Bellay, France) d.1889
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & professor

** 1817 - English cellist Robert Lindley took part in a concert of a piano quartet by Dussek with Cipriano Potter, Weichsel and Watts; then in a string trio by Romberg with the last two named.

** 1881 - an extensive chamber music programme was presented at the Cambridge University Musical Society - two string quartets (Beethoven, String Quartet in F major, Op.35 and Brahms, String Quartet in A minor, Op.51/2) were performed by the quartet of Messrs Joachim, Gompertz, Ludwig and Hausmann. Joachim also performed Beethoven - Violin Sonata in G major, Op.26, and a solo by Brahms, whilst Robert Hausmann interpreted Schumann - Märchenbilder for Cello and Piano, Op.113 (probably in the version of Grützmacher). Miss Arnold was the pianist.

** 1894 - after the premiere of Herbert - Cello Concerto No.2, Op.30 the previous day the critic of the New York Times writing on this day certainly seemed very “anti-cello”!! Maybe this damning report even hindered the acceptance of the concerto in soloists’ repertoire during the following decades? His words included:
“The composition of concertos for the violoncello is not compulsory, nor will any man be assaulted with violent language if he declines to play them. But when a man is a composer by natural gifts, and a ‘cello player by choice, he will write concertos for his favorite instrument, and it is not possible to prevent him from doing so. But it does seem that the exercise of a little resolution and gentle force might prevent a man from playing them in public. The ‘cello itself protests loudly against being sawed to make a virtuoso’s holiday. But, unfortunately, arpeggios, chromatics, seventh positions, harmonics, and double-stopping are possible to the player of this instrument, and he has no mercy. It does not seem to concern him that in rapid passages the low strings bark and the high strings squeak, that chords are suggestive of explosions and chromatic descending scales in the upper strata of the first string of the wailing of wandering spirits by the River Styx. He will write a concerto or perish in the attempt; and he usually does both”

** 1903 - a nice review on today’s date for a recent Robert Hausmann recital, that appeared in the ‘Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser’:
“Beethoven’s sonata in A, for piano and ’cello, is one of the finest works extant for that particular combination, and both Mr. Mayer and Mr. Robert Hausmann, who is a professor of the ’cello at Berlin, gave to the performance a character which only mutual sympathy and understanding can supply. In tone and style, Mr. Hausmann’s playing resembles Mr. Fuchs’s, and he may well be content with the comparison. … The two performers again distinguished themselves [in Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style], the balance of tone being correctly maintained, while the precision with which the rapid passages were rendered stood out conspicuously. … In Brahms’s sonata in F, op. 99, the two executants had no easy task, but to players of their calibre this was not a matter of concern.”

** 1903- at the Liverpool Philharmonic Society (England) featured soloists were Miss Münchoff (vocal) and Mr Hausmann (cello).

** 1908 - at the Liverpool Philharmonic Society (England) featured soloists were Miss Elena Gerhardt (vocal) and Senor Pablo Casals (cello).

** 1951 - birth of Lluis Claret (Andorra la Vella, Andorra)
cellist

** 1971 - birth of Igor Zubkovsky (born Russia)
cellist {based U.S.A.}

** 1974 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Michael Haran, with Alexander Fiorillo /piano

11 March

** 1753 - birth of Pierre-François Levasseur {‘the older’} (Abbeville, France) d. c1815-1820 {not related to Jean-Henri Levasseur }
cellist, theatre/opera orchestra

** 1822 - English cellist Robert Lindley performed with his son, and the double bassist Dragonetti on this day (in London)

** 1881 - birth of Ladislav Zelenka (Modřany, Czech) d.1957
cellist, chamber musician & teacher

** 1900 - cello recital in London by Mr W.H. Squire (cello) and Herr Georg Liebling (piano)

** 1913 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Berlin by soloists Eugène Ysaye & Jean Gérardy with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Stransky

** 1916 - a New Reid Concert took place on today’s date at the Freemasons' Hall (Edinburgh). The names of the performers were Miss Helen Anderton - singer, Mr Horace Fellowes - violin, Miss Emily Buchanan - viola and Mrs Alexander Maitland - continuo. However,what specially interests the cello world is that the list was completed by Rodolphe Soiron - cello, and he was to give a performance of Debussy - Sonata for violoncello and pianoforte - surely one of the FIRST renditions in all history, and although there is no obvious proof this may well have been a British (or at a minimum Scottish!) premiere. The other composers on the programme were Donald Tovey, Brahms and 3 Scarlatti sonatas (these last probably for the first time too in public!)

** 1918 - the Royal Philharmonic Society at the Queen's Hall (London) gave a performance featuring the soloist Beatrice Harrison (cello).

** 1929 - birth of Kermit Moore (Akron. Phio, USA) d.2013
cellist, conductor, composer, teacher, and mentor

** 1958 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a broadcast performance of Boccherini - Cello Concerto in Bb Major (version Grützmacher) with the Symphonieorchester  des Norddeutschen Rundfunks, conducted by Georg Solti

** 1962 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by the National Gallery Orchestra, with cellist Ana Drittelle as invited soloist, conducted by Richard Bales

** 1967 - birth of Jean-Guihen Queyras (Montreal, Quebec)
cellist

** 1979 - first performance of Malcolm Forsyth - Eight Duets for Young Cellists (1974)
cellists: Amanda Forsyth and Shauna Rolston (University of Alberta, Canada)

** 1979 - first performance of Jan Duchaň - Cello Concerto
soloist -  Michaela Fukačová, with the Moravský komorní orchestr, conducted by Zbynek Mrkos (Besedni dum, Brno city, Czech Republic)

** 1988 - first performance of William Bolcom - Capriccio for cello and piano
(Library of Congress, Washington)

** 1998 - Suzana Stefanović performed the Richard Strauss - Romanze at the Fundación Juan March in Madrid - quite possibly a Spanish premiere of the work, for it was left for lost for many decades and only published as late as 1978. Originally conceived for cello and orchestra, she was accompanied on this occasion by the pianist Agustin Serrano

12 March

** 1849 - birth of Nicasio Jiménez (Trinidad, Cuba) d.1891
cellist, orchestra musician, chamber musician & teacher & occasional violinist

** 1892 - first performance of Saint-Saëns - Chant Saphique, Op.91 for cello and piano  
?/cello (Paris)

** 1900 - first performance of Jean Sibelius - Malinconia op.20 for cello and piano
(Helsinki)

** 1917 - first performance of Hindemith - 3 Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op.8
(Kleiner Saalbau, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany)

** 1944 - birth of Douglas {‘Dougie’} Cummings (London) d.2006
cellist, orchestral principal (first cello ofLondon Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years), chamber musician & professor

** 1964 - first performance of Britten - Symphony for Cello and Orchestra 
soloist - Mstislav Rostropovich, with Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer (Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire - recorded by Soviet radio)

** 1978 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Bert Phillips, with Toby Blumenthal /piano

** 1987 - Luisa Vasconcelos/cello and Jorge Peixinho/piano performed Tomás Marco - ‘Maya’, for cello and piano (1968-69) in a concert recorded by Spanish National Radio
Auditorio de la Universidad, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

** 1990 - the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, invited Mischa Maisky as cello soloist (? work ?)

13 March

** 1867 - birth of Emil Leichsenring (Klingenthal, Vogtland, Germany)
cellist, member of the Meiningen Court Orchestra, Bulow Orchestra at Hamburg and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, member of the string quartet of the Meiningen court chapel; professor

** 1884 - first performance of slow movement to Stanford - Cello Concerto
soloist - Robert Hausmann (CUMS concert, UK)

** 1923 - in the Saal Bechstein (Berlin) a programme titled “Moderne Cello-Sonaten” was given by Sela Trau (cello) and Felix Petyrek (piano).

** 1930 - first performance of Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes    
soloist Pablo Casals with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Barbirolli (London)

** 1931 - An Oxford Ladies' Musical Society concert featured a recital with Alexander Fachiri (cello) and Professor Wührer (piano).

** 1947 - birth of Beat Richner (Zürich, Switzerland)
Swiss physician (founder of children's hospitals in Cambodia) and cellist

** 1988 - first performance of Vivian Fine - Sonata for Violoncello and Piano 
(New York)

** 1995 - first performance of Tan Dun - Yi1: Intercourse of Fire and Water, for Cello and Orchestra 
soloist Anssi Karttunen, with Finnish Radio Orchestra, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Helsinki)

14 March

** 1773 - birth of Pierre Louis Hus-Desforges (Toulon, France) d.1838
cellist and trumpeter, theatre orchestra cellist, opera conductor, founder of Metz Conservatoire, conductor of Théâtre du Palais Royal

** 1814 - Charles Neate performed as cellist in a quartet playing a work by Romberg.

** 1835 - birth of Walter Petit (London?) d.1882
cellist, principal cello in the Queen’s band, and at the Philharmonic Society; performed at the H.M. Theatre

** 1885 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Miss Anna Williams (vocal) and Robert Hausmann (cello).

** 1892 - French/American cellist Louis Victor Gaetan Amato (member Chicago Orchestra) performed at the Saint Louis Exposition

** 1903 - in the concert series “Mr Joseph Ivimey´s Chamber Concerts”, held in the Assembly Rooms, Surbiton, Surrey, England, the chamber concert was on this date featured soloists Mr Arthur Walenn (vocal) and Mr Withers (cello).

** 1907 - first performance of Widor - Cello Sonata in A Major, Op.80 
(Jules Loeb/cello and composer at piano, Paris)  

** 1909 - first performance of Enescu - Sinfonia Concertante, Op.8 (1901)  
soloist - Joseph Salmon, Concerts Lamourreux Orchestra, conducted by composer (Paris)   

** 1920 - birth of Paul Szabo (Hungary)
cellist, chamber musician - cellist of Vegh quartet

** 1921 - Felix Salmond performed as cello soloist in Brahms - Double Concerto in A minor with the violinist Sammons, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates. Salmond was now being recognized as England’s premier concert cellist

15 March

** 1820 - Pierre Alexandre François Chevillard (b. 1811, Antwerp, Belgium) became a student at the Paris Conservatoire on this day, a pupil of Norblin!

** 1838 - birth of Carl Davidov (Goldingen, Latvia) d.1889
cellist and composer

** 1858 - birth of Raymond François Marthe (Tarbes, France)
cellist, member of the Paris Opera Orchestra & teacher

** 1890 - a notable historical concert on this day: an orchestral concert featuring soloists Miss Alice Whitacre (vocal), Joseph Joachim (violin) and Ernest Gillet (cello). The programme included the ‘new’ Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Violoncello (Crystal Palace , London)

** 1906 - 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 was an ‘All Brahms’ concert and included: Quartet No.3 in Bb major, Op.67, Quintet No.1 in F major, Op.88, and the Sextet No.1 in Bb major, Op.18 (Sing-Akademie, Berlin)

** 1918 - Edward Elgar undergoes a tonsillectomy in London - the operation is a success but recovery was to be slow - few people know but while hospitalized, Elgar was to write down the opening theme of his Cello Concerto!
** 1933 - birth of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Brooklyn, New York) d.2020
a very important American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States over 25 years; and an adolescent cellist with happy memories! She said in an interview:
“I took piano lessons from age eight to age sixteen, then for a year at Cornell University, 1952, where I also took Music 101 and 102 - the basic music course. I took cello lessons from 1946 to 1947, then played cello - not well - in my high-school orchestra from 1947 to 1950 - among the best experiences in my growing-up years.”

** 1995 - Antonio Meneses was invited cello soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (? work ?)

** 1957 - first performance of Crumb - Solo Cello Sonata       
soloist Camilla Doppman (USA - Ann Arbor, Michigan)

** 1978 - cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, have their Soviet citizenship revoked

** 1978 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Martinu - Cello Concerto No.1 in Geneva, with the orchestra of the Suisse Romande, conducted by Wolfgang Swallisch - later issued on CD

** 1990 - the premiere of John Corigliano - Symphony No.1 (written 1988) took place at the Symphony Centre, Chicago with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Baremboim. Its great interest for cellists lays here:
The third movement, Chaconne: Giulio’s Song was written in memory of a college friend of the composer, Giulio, an amateur cellist. The chaconne, a recurring harmonic pattern, is followed by solo cello representing his friend. A second cello joins in, a remembrance of Giulio’s cello teacher. 
The final movement – Epilogue – begins with a solo cello. Each of the friends and their music is recalled: the piano from the first movement, the clarinet playing the tarantella folk tune, the solo cellos. Antiphonal waves, led by brass, burble and churn underneath. The work ends on a dying “A” in the solo cello.

** 1991 - premiere of Francisco Manuel Balboa Rodríguez - Preludio de ‘A noite vai coma un rio’, by Andrés Ruiz/cello and Pablo Ferreño /piano
‘I Semana Cultural de la Diputación’, Teatro Rosalía, La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

** 1991 - premiere and live recording, for Spanish National Radio, of Francisco Manuel Balboa Rodríguez - Solamente (a la memoria de Mará Zembrano), and Juan Vara García - ‘Tiempo para una distancia secreta’ given by Herre-Jan Stegenga/cello, and Emmanuel Ferrer/piano
‘V Xornadas de Música Contemporánea’, Auditorio de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

** 1995 - Antonio Meneses was invited cello soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (? work ?)

16 March

** 1852 - first performance of William Sterndale Bennett - Sonata Duo for cello and piano, Op.32
(London)

** 1879 - birth of Franz Borisch (Kottbis, Prussia)
cellist, principal cello Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, royal chamber musician, member of Royal Chapel of Berlin & professor

** 1885 - first performance of Franz Liszt - Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, for piano and violin or cello
(Budapest)

** 1889 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Mr Edward Lloyd (vocal) and Mons. Ernest Gillet (cello).

** 1891 - birth of Dezyderiusz Danczowski (Battonya, Poland) d.1950
cellist, orchestra principal cello and music educator

** 1901 - the date of the first ever cellist to make a ‘commercial’ recording; and the cellist was Alex Heindl

** 1927 - Alexander Fachiri (cello) and Angus Morrison (piano) gave a recital in the Bourne Music Club (England).

** 1930 - British cellist Felix Salmond finally had the opportunity to perform Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor in New York, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under Artur Bodanzky. The concert took place at the Mecca Auditorium. There was rather a ‘muddled’ review in The New York Times the following day:
“whatever the auditors’ reaction to the modern ’cello concerto of Elgar, which has at least the merit that it helps performers on the violoncello to eke out their scanty repertory, there can be no division of opinion regarding the musicianship and artistic sincerity of Mr Salmond’s playing”

** 1956 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier finished recording the Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, and the Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations in the Kingsway Hall (London), with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent

** 1982 - first performance of William Walton - Passacaglia for solo cello
(London)

17 March

** 1817 - birth of Julius Stahlknecht (Posen, Germany)  
cellist, chamber musician & composer

** 1817 - birth of Ferdinand Büchler (Darmstadt, Germany) d.1842
cellist, orchestra principal cello & chamber musician

** 1874 - first joint performance of cellist David Popper and {first wife} Sophie Menter - piano
(Bösendorfersaal, Vienna)

** 1883 - first performance of David Popper - Cello Concerto No.2 in E minor, Op.24
soloist - David Popper, conducted by Anton Rubinstein (St. Petersburg, Russia)

** 1900 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Mr Santley (vocal) and Herr Julius Klengel (cello). Interestingly the programme also included the first English performance of Klengel - Concert Overture in Eb Major, Op.35.

** 1917 - the Manchester City News gave an interesting report of the duo Hatton (cello) and Forbes (piano) on a performance of Debussy - Cello Sonata:
“…the Sonata for Violoncello and Piano by Debussy, in which the ‘cello was again revealed as an instrument strongly akin to the Debussy spirit. Full of strange and flowing emotions with which the composer has already dealt more fully elsewhere, the piece was like a spiritual arousal after travail. Mr. Hatton and Mr. R.J. Forbes made a very vivid thing of its jocular tauntings no less than its bizarre pleading”

** 1932 - a Reid Historical Concert at Edinburgh University featured the Edinburgh String Quartet (W. Watt Jupp, J. M. Begbie, Miss Margaret Ludwig, and J. Dickson) with guests John Fairbairn - viola and Ruth Waddell - 'cello. The performance included D. F. Tovey - Sonata for two cellos

** 1941 - first performance of Norman Dello Joio - Sonata for cello and piano
?/cellist with composer at piano (the MacDowell Club, New York)

** 1945 - first performance of Myaskovsky - Cello Concerto No.1
soloist Knushevitsky (in Moscow)

** 1981 - first performance of Rodrigo ‘Como una fantasia’ for solo cello
soloist - Carlos Prieto (Mexico City)

** 1987 - the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, invited Matt Haimovitz as cello soloist, playing Lalo - Concerto in D minor 

18 March

** 1791 - the cellist Menel performed in a concertante by Haydn at the Hannover Rooms (London).

** 1832 - birth of Jules-Joseph} Ernest Vieuxtemps (Brussels) d.1896
cellist, orchestra & opera principal cello {based England}

** 1834 - birth of Otto Kitzler (Germany) d.1915
cellist, conductor and orchestration teacher (of Bruckner!) {based in Austria}

** 1870 - Friedrich Grützmacher performed as soloist in the Schumann Cello Concerto probably for the first time in his life at a Frankfurt Museum Concert on March 18, 1870, and probably still one of the first ever performances world-wide of this work.

** 1904 - Richard Strauss accompanied cellist Leo Schulz, in a performance of his Cello Sonata in F Major, Op.6
(New York)

** 1927 - at the Teatro Nazionale, Piazza S. Agostino, Genova (Italy). special guest was Enrico Mainardi (cello) in the ‘Concerto della Commemorazione del Centenario Beethoveniano’

** 1954 - birth of Jan Diesselhorst (Marburg, Germany) d.2009
cellist, orchestra musician (Berlin Philharmonic), chamber musician and orchestral academy teacher - member of ‘The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic’ 

** 1981 - birth of Alberto Martos Lozano (Granada, Spain)
cellist and composer

19 March

** 1740 - birth of Joseph F. Weigl (Bavaria) d.1820
cellist, orchestra musician, opera orchestra musician, Imperial Band and Court and chamber musician {father of the more well-known composer Joseph Weigl}

** 1761 - Luigi Boccherini, eighteen years old, gives a concert entirely programming music by himself
(Florence, Italy)

** 1847 - birth of Constantin Dimitrescu (Blejoi, Rumania) d.1928
composer, teacher & cellist

** 1868 - birth of Luigi Stefano Giarda (Viña del Mar, Chile) d.1952
cellist, conductor, composer & teacher

** 1876 - in the German press “Signalen für die Musikalische Welt” the following was written about cellist Karl Ripfel (he had recently passed away on 8th March):
“Although not known in an extensive circle, he was esteemed by Bernhard Romberg to be the greatest master of technique on his instrument, which he was at last able to manipulate almost as well as Paganini”

** 1894 - birth of Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (San Diego, USA) d.1975
cellist, film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter, director of Western films

** 1896 - first performance of Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor
soloist Leo Stern (London)

** 1942 - first performance of Bohuslav Martinu - Cello Sonata no.2 
(New York)

** 1944 - on March 19, 1944, the Nazis invaded Hungary and - incredibly - stopped in mid-concert a Sunday performance, whilst firing and subsequently rounding up all Jewish musicians, including George Horvath (father of cellist Janet)

** 1944 - birth of Myung-Wha Chung (Seoul, South Korea)
cellist

** 1973 - cellist Thomas Igloi gave a recital including Bach - Solo Cello Suite No.1 and Beethoven - Sonata in F Major, Op.5/1
Bishopsgate Hall, London

** 1991 - birth of Pablo Ferrandez (Madrid)
cellist

** 1990 - on this day cellist Janos Starker made a live recording of Martinu - Cello Concerto No.1 (in the third and final version), in Prague, with the Radio Czech Orchestra conducted by John Nelson

** 1999- on this day cellist Janos Starker made a live recording of Alan Hovhaness - Cello Concerto, with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra conducted by Denis Russell Davis

** 1999 - Lito Iglesias/cello and Jordi Vilaprinyo/piano performed Joan Juinjoán - Duo for cello and piano (1970), and Manuel Oltra Ferrer - Sonata for cello and piano (1959) in the Sociedad General de Autores de España (SGAE), Barcelona, recorded live by Spanish National Radio.

20 March

** 1768 - Luigi Boccherini makes his official Parisian debut
(Salle des Suisses in the Palais des Tuileries)

** 1912 - on this day a performance took place at the Wigmore Hall, London, featuring Pablo Casals cello and Elly Ney piano

** 1914 - birth of Martin Bochmann (Großdeuben, nr. Leipzig, Germany) d.1983
cellist, orchestra principal cello, professor {later based England} - father of composer/cellist Christopher and violinist Michael

** 1920 - Arthur Williams was solo cellist, with violinist Jelly D'Aranyi in Brahms - Double Concerto for violin and violoncello, Op. 102, with The Reid Orchestra conducted by Professor Donald Francis Tovey, at the McEwan Hall (Edinburgh). Also in the programme were works of Dvorak, Beethoven and Mozart.

** 1920 - Felix Salmond gave the second performance of the new Elgar - Cello Concerto in Manchester on 20th March 1920, with the Hallé Orchestra being conducted by Albert Coates, the same conductor as in the supposed first performance failure (but this is now put into question thanks to grand investigative work by Tully Potter)

** 1932 - a ‘Professor Tovey's Sunday Concert’ at Edinburgh University featured Guilhermina Suggia - cello and D.F. Tovey - piano. They performed a mammoth all-Beethoven programme consisting of: Sonata in G minor, Op.5, No.2, Sonata in C Major, Op.102, No.1, Sonata in D Major, Op.102, No.2, and Sonata in A Major, Op.69

** 1938 - Maurice Maréchal (cello) and Irmgard Mietusch (piano) gave a recital in Berlin.

** 1940 - in the National Gallery, London, a recital was given by Florence Austral (vocal) and Mischel Cherniavsky (cello), accompanied by Gerald Moore.

** 1959 - Martinu finishes (in the space of one week) his ‘Variations on a Slovak folk melody’, for cello and piano

** 1963 - at the Bishopsgate Institute (London) the City Music Society concert invited William Pleeth (cello), Owen Brannigan (bass) and Edmund Rubbra (piano) to give a recital that included works of Rubbra - Cello Sonata, Op.60 and ‘Three Psalms’, Op.61

21 March

** 1881 - birth of {Peter} Herman Sandby (Holbaek, Denmark) d.1965
cellist, orchestral principal cello

** 1914 - birth of Paul Tortelier (Paris) d.1990
cellist, orchestral principal cello, professor & composer

** 1926 - the cellist Bernard Beers, with Professor D. F. Tovey - piano, gave a recital at Synod Hall (Edinburgh), performing J.S. Bach - Sonata in G minor, J. Roentgen - Sonata in B minor, Op.56, a Cello sonata (not specified) by Boccherini, and Brahms - Sonata in F major, Op.99

** 1937 - Gregor Piatigorsky performed as cello soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Beecham, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London)

** 1948 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by cellist Luigi Silva, with Carl Fuerstner /piano

** 1999 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by David and Tatjana Geringas, cellist and pianist

22 March

** 1884 - an autograph copy of Piatti - Solo Cello Caprice No.4 ‘Allegretto in D minor’ made "for dear Arthur Chappell's album" dated 22 March 1884, probably meant this this piece was also available separately, apart from the full 12 Caprice set.

** 1925 - Paul Grümmer (cello) and Hans Baer (piano) give a recital in Berlin.

** 1972 - first performance of Wolfgang Rihm - Grat for cello
(Darmstadt, Germany)

** 1995 - first performance of Gavin Bryars - The South Downs for cello and piano
(Bath, England)

 ** 1998 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Mark Kowsower, with Jee-Won Oh /piano

23 March
** 1835 - on this day English cellist Robert Lindley performed with the double bassist Dragonetti a sonata of Corelli (in London)

** 1887 - first performance of Heinrich von Herzogenberg - Cello Sonata
Robert Hausmann/cello and Elisabet von Herzogenberg/piano (Saale der Königliechen Hochschule, University of Halle, Germany)

** 1914 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Berlin by soloists Gunna Breuning & Paul Grümmer with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nikisch

** 1928 - Beatrice Harrison recorded the cello concerto of Elgar - a new recording was made by the electric process on 23rd March 1928 where two turntables were recording simultaneously.  Using modern digital technology, these two recordings made at the same session have been combined to create a new stereo version.  It also stands as the most accurate representation of what Elgar intended his famous concerto to express at this time in history.

** 1932 - cellist Paul Hermann gave a recital with violinist Zoltán Székely for the Holland section of ISCM at the Amsterdam Conservatory on March 23rd, 1932 - the programme included a solo cello sonata by Bertus van Lier, Ernst Toch's Divertimento,  a premiere of the solo violin sonata by Willem Pijper, and  two works for violin and cello by Kodály and Bartók. The written press was unanimously enthusiastic. Newspaper Het Volk reported that:
“The violinist Zoltán Székely and cellist Paul Hermann, who have both made a second homeland here, are genuine propagandists for our newest music; which, in its development, shows a striking resemblance to the Hungarian school.”

** 1948 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier recorded Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations, in Morden (England), with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Norman del Mar

** 1980 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Pamela Barr, with Stephen Swedish /piano

** 1982 - first live recorded performance of Barja Iglesias - 5 Melodies (1961-66) [this work is also known as ‘Canciones para cello y piano’ and consist of the titles: Ausencia; Súplica; Noticia; Cuando yo me vaya; Vidalita
Carlos Baena/cello and Ramona Sanuy/piano (Casa de la Radio, RNE, Madrid)

24 March

** 1773 - birth of Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges (Toulon, France) d.1838
cellist, conductor & composer  

** 1784 - on 24th March 1784, a concert of new music by Haydn was announced in a London newspaper, The Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser: “A new concerto, Violoncello, Mr Cervetto, composed by Haydn” - a week later a second performance was announced as “Concerto, Violoncello, Mr Cervetto, composed by Haydn”

** 1852 - in a concert of the New Philharmonic Society at Exeter Hall, London the first part was dedicated to Berlioz - ‘Romeo and Juliet’, with Miss Dolby and Mr Lockey (vocal soloists). Also, later special guest artists were Monsieur Silas (piano), Signor Sivori (violin), Signor Piatti (cello) and Signor Bottesini (double bass).

** 1880 - the Cello Concerto in A minor of Robert Schumann was heard for only the third time in Britain, when the soloist was the Belgian cellist Ernest de Munck, at a Philharmonic Society concert, London, on 24th March 1892

** 1901 - solo cello performance in London - Mr W.H. Squire (cello)
unclear as to whether orchestral or chamber concert

** 1923 - Guilhermina Suggia was solo cellist in Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85, with The Reid Orchestra conducted by Donald Tovey, at the Usher Hall (Edinburgh). She also performed J.S. Bach - Solo Suite No.3 in C Major.

** 1932 - Guilhermina Suggia was solo cellist in Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104, and Haydn - Cello Concerto in D Major, with The Reid Orchestra conducted by Donald Tovey, at the Usher Hall (Edinburgh).

** 1950 - first performance of Virgil Thomson - Concerto for cello and orchestra 
(Philadelphia, USA)

** 1954 - birth of Hank Roberts (Terre Haute, Indiana, USA)
cellist (jazz/electric) & vocalist

** 1968 - Jacqueline Du Pré performed Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor in Manchester, with the Hallé Orchestra; Daniel Baremboim conducted this orchestra for the first time in his career.

25 March

** 1836 - A notable event in the life of cellist Johann Andreas Grabau was the first performance of Beethoven's triple concerto on 25 March 1836, when Mendelssohn played the pianoforte, Ferdinand David, violin, and Grabau the violoncello.

** 1854 - birth (almost surely 25th March but possibly in April) of Gabrielle Platteau (Ixelles, near Brussels) d.1875
woman cellist of note, and also singer

** 1860 - birth of Cornélis Liégeois (Namur, Belgium)
cellist, solo cello of Bilse Orchestra (Berlin), chamber musician, professor - wrote a tutor for cello in 3 volumes

** 1867 - birth of Arturo Toscanini (Parma, Italy) d.1957
conductor & cellist

** 1893 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Mademoiselle Landi (vocal) and Herr Julius Klengel (cello), including the first English performance of Klengel - Cello Concerto No.2 in D Major.

** 1899 - the ‘Crystal Palace Saturday Concerts’ (South London) included the soloists
Mr Gregory Hast (vocal) and ‘Herr’ Julius Klengel (cello)  in the orchestral performance - this concert also included the first performance of W. H. Bell - Symphonic Poem 'The Pardoner's Tale'.

** 1902 - cellist Louise Dellmayer was referred to in the “Syracuse Journal” in the spring of 1902, as a “cellist with remarkable execution and artistic skill” (Syracuse Journal 25th March, 1902).

** 1905 - the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra gave a performance in Berlin with soloist Herman Sandby (cello)

** 1927 - first performance of Florence Schmitt - Final, for cello and orchestra
(Salle Erard, Paris)

** 1939 - first performance of Villa-Lobos - the aria from Bachianas Brasileiras no.5 for soprano and eight cellos
(Rio de Janeiro)

** 1960 - first performance of Henry Cowell - Four Declamations with Return, for cello and piano 
(New York)

*** 1960 - first performance of Morton Feldman - Durations 2, for cello and piano  
(New York)

** 1966 - first performance of Simon Laks - Dialogue for Two Cellos (1964)
cellists: Jean & Mireille Réculard (Châtea, Saint Ouen, France)

** 1966 - birth of Melora Creager (Kansus City, Misuri, USA)
cellist, songwriter, and modern chamber (founder of Rasputina) - also Vocals, dulcimer, piano & banjo

** 1977 - birth of Natalie Clein (Poole, Dorest, England)
cellist

** 1984 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Timothy Butler, with Jeffrey Calman /piano

** 1990 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Steven Honigberg Truls Mork, with Kathryn Brake /piano

** 1997 - first performance of David L. Young - Lexicon for 3 Violoncelli (one of a series of works titled “Val Camonica Pieces”)
cellists:  Clare Brassil, Fiona Furphy and Jane Tallon (La Mama Theatre, Melbourne, Australia)

26 March

** 1783 - cellist Jean Louis Duport (the younger) gave a rectital at the “Professional Concerts” (under Lord Abingdon’s management) at the Hanover Rooms, Hanover Square, London

** 1832 - English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with second cellist Crouch and the double bassist Dragonetti, a sonata of Corelli.

** 1865 - birth of Jean Preuveneers (Brussels)
cellist, member of Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris, member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Queen’s Hall Orchestra (London), principal cello of the ‘New Symphony Orchestra’, cellist of the John Saunders String Quartet in London; cellist in the Harrison chamber concerts throughout England

** 1879 - first performance of Stanford - Cello Sonata, Op.9
Robert Hausmann/cello and the composer at piano

** 1961 - at the Town Hall, Leeds (England) the Scottish National Orchestra performed with Gaspar Cassado as cello soloist.

27 March

** 1710 - birth of Joseph Abaco {full name Joseph Marie Clément Ferdinand dall'Abaco} (Brussels) d.1805
cellist, court chamber orchestra & composer

** 1753 - birth of Franz Mensi (Bistra, Croatia)
catholic priest, cellist (and violinist), composer of religious and secular music

** 1875 - at the Crystal Palace Saturday Orchestral Concerts (South London) the featured invited soloists on this day were Miss Blanche Cole, Miss Palmer, Mr Edward Lloyd and Mr Whitney (vocalists), with the Crystal Palace Choir, and ‘Signor Piatti’ (cello) and Dr Stainer (organ).

** 1902 - birth of Paul Hermann (Budapest) d.1944
cellist, chamber musician & composer

** 1924 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date by soloists Paul Kochanski & Felix Salmond with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Damrosch

** 1927- at the Synod Hall, Castle Terrace (Edinburgh) a ‘Sunday Evening Concert’ took place with Mr A. Fachiri (cello) and Donald Tovey (piano).

** 1927 - birth of Mstislav Rostropovich (Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) d.2007
cellist, chamber musician & conductor. Champion of new cello repertoire.

** 1942 - first performance of Martinu - Cello Sonata No.2         
Lucien Laporte/cello and Elly Bontempo/piano

** 1943 - Frieda Belinfante - cellist, conductor, human rights and active anti-Nazi resistance member - was part of the CKC resistance group that organised and executed the bombing of the population registry in Amsterdam on March which destroyed thousands of files (on this day, 1943) and hindered Nazi attempts to compare forged documents with documents in the registry

** 1959 - birth of Michaela Fukačová (Brno, Czech Republic)
cellist, chamber musician and professor {based Denmark}

** 1963 - birth of Thomas Grossenbacher (Switzerland)
cellist & professor (of cello & chamber music at Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Switzerland)

** 1977 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Fritz Magg, with Gyorgy Sebok /piano

** 1979 - first performance of Sofia Gubaidulina - In croce for cello and organ
(Kazan, Russia)

28 March

** 1784 - birth of Charles Neate (England)
cellist, but better known as a pianist & composer

** 1801 - premiere of Beethoven - Ballet ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’ or ‘Prometheus’ (German: Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus), Op. 43 (the overture features an important orchestral principal cello solo line}
(Burgtheater, Vienna)

** 1865 - birth of Leo Schulz (Posen, ex-Germany) d.1944
cellist, principal cello cello, composer & professor

** 1869 - birth of Christian Sibelius (Hämeenlinna, Finland) d.1922 {brother of Jean Sibelius}
Finnish doctor and professor of psychiatry - but also a gifted chamber musician (a cellist)

** 1892 - a notable concert took place at the London ‘Popular concerts’ at St. James’s Hall, with the famed clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld introducing (proably for the first time ever in Britain) the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. The string players were no less famous: Joseph Joachim, Louis Ries, Ludwig Strauss and Alfredo Piatti!

** 1895 - English cellist Mabel Chaplin made her London debut on March 28, 1895 in Queen's Hall with works by Luigi Boccherini and David Popper, with the reviewer of the “Musical Times” highlighting the extraordinary choice of the cello as “an instrument which appears to be growing in popularity with lady executants”  

** 1897 - in the series of the then famous Sunday Afternoon Orchestral Concerts given at the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, ‘Monsieur Hollman’was the featured cello soloist.

** 1908 - at the Beethoven Hall, Berlin, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performed with Jacques van Lier as cello soloist.

** 1927 - Paul Grümmer (cello) and Alexander Tcherepnin (piano) gave a recital in Berlin.

** 1939 - At the Royal Albert Hall in London Pau Casals performed at a charity concert for refugee children.

** 1955 - on this day cellist Antonio Janigro made a live recording, in Cologne, of Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, with the Orchester des Kölner Runfunks conducted by Erich Kleiber

** 1972 - first performance of Bernstein - Three Meditations from Mass for cello and piano
Stephen Kates/cello with composer at piano

** 1982 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Robert Battey, with Edward Newman /piano

29 March

** 1729 - cellist Giuseppe Clemens Ferdinand (Barone d’all Abaco) was appointed ‘valet de chambre’ to the Elector of Cologne at Bonn. The salary was 400 guilders. He later received promotion there.

** 1773 - birth of Charles-Nicolas Baudiot (Nancy, France) d.1849
cellist, first cello king’s chapel, teacher & composer

** 1859 - birth of Hermann Heberlein (Markneukirchen, Saxony, Germany)
cellist, composer & music educator

** 1859 - birth of Eduard Rosa {Rosemblum} (Jassy, Romania) d.1943
cellist {Nazi holocaust victim}  

** 1860 - concert ‘debut’ of David Popper (performing Servais - Souvenir de St. Petersburg, Op.15)
Orchestra of the Prague Conservatoire, conducted by Hans von Bülow (Ständisches Theater, Prague)

** 1903 - birth of Nerón (Antonio) Ferrazzano (Buenos Aires) d.1977
cellist, double bassist, composer, tango specialist 

** 1906 - In 1906 the Nora Clench Quartet - with cellist May Mukle - surprised the British public with a daring programme decision as related by The Times Newspaper:
“The members of the Nora Clench Quartet, greatly daring, introduced into their programme, on Tuesday night, Beethoven's great fugue, Op.133, a work of which the performances, all the world over, must have been very few indeed. The fact that it has never been played by the Joachim Quartet is a constant cause of regret to those who realize the perfect authority of their readings of the other 'posthumous' quartets” (Times March 29, 1906).

** 1928 - birth of Derek Simpson (Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England) d.2007
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & professor

** 1943 - cellist Leopold Teraspulsky cellist makes his American debut 29/03/1943, in a recital playing works by Moor, Haydn and Martinu in New York Town Hall. He was accompanied on the piano by Erich Itor Kahn.

** 1947 - Felix Salmond gave a recital in the Juilliard School, New York, playing ALL five Beethoven Sonatas in one evening with a fellow faculty member, Leonid Hambro, to mark the silver jubilee of his American début, and the following year (1948) the duo recorded them.

** 1947 - birth of Aage Kvalbein (Oslo, Norway)
cellist,chamber musician & pedagogue

** 1969 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier finished recording Tcherepnin - Solo Cello Suite, Op.76, in the Salle Wagram (Paris) (recording took place 27th to 29th March ’69)

** 1989 - first radio broadcast performance of Peter Racine Fricker - ‘Aspects of Evening’ for cello and piano, Op.90
Alexander Baillie/cello and Piers Lane/piano (BBC radio) 

** 1991 - first performance of John Corigliano - ‘Of Rage and Remembrance’, for mezzo-soprano, boy soprano, chorus, percussion, eight cellos, and four double basses
(Seattle, USA)

30 March

** 1830 - birth of Auguste Tolbecque (Paris) d.1919
cellist {started first with violin} & professor

** 1871 - birth of Rosa Brackenhammer (Nürtingen, Germany) d.1946
important woman cellist in Germany

** 1885 - first performance of Piatti - Bergamasca 
soloist - Alfredo Piatti (last popular concert of season, Bergamo, Italy)

** 1890 - an early appearance of woman cellist Josefine Donat (b.1867 Vienna) is documented in the “Österreichische Musik- und Theaterzeitung” for 13th March, 1890 in an event organized by the ‘Music Pedagogical Association of Music Teachers’, who reported:
“Miss. Donat played the first movement of Mendelssohn's Sonata with Clavier on the cello quite sensibly […]  then an elegy from “Dom Sebastian” by A. Balta,  which  should have made a more impression if the tempo had been slower” 

** 1895 - English cellist Maud Fletcher performed in Bournemouth (England) on this day together with the Clara Schumann student Nathalie Janotha. 

** 1911 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Berlin by soloists Karl Klingler & Arthur Williams with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

** 1913 - the Academy of Music of Budapest announces that David Popper’s cello classes were cancelled until further notice due to an accident in which Popper had fractured his arm!

** 1916 - first performance of Sibelius - Cantique and Devotion, Op.77 for cello and orchestra
soloist - Ossian Fohstöm with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer

31 March

** 1691 - birth of Francesco Alborea (Naples, Italy) d.1739 
cellist, Imperial chamber musician & professor {based Austria}

** 1784 - on this day the Haydn - Cello Concerto in D Major received only its second ever performance! It was announced in the Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser 30th March 1784. No longer ‘new’, the second performance was simply advertised as “Concerto Violoncello, Mr Cervetto, composed by Haydn”.

** 1890 - Richard Strauss accompanied cellist Alvin Schröder, in a performance of his Cello Sonata in F Major, Op.6
(Leipzig, Germany)

** 1894 - Alexander Mackenzie, the then principal (director) of the Royal Academy of Music, spoke about Alfredo Piatti in the occasion of “Musical Events – The Joachim and Piatti Jubilee”, praising his contributions to the development of chamber music in England, on 31st March, 1894:
“Your constant co-operation in the quartet at the Popular Concerts, from the first, has been not only a fundamental source of strength to the Institution itself, but an important factor in that growing love for chamber music which has been so conspicuous a feature in our recent musical progress. The example of your faultlessly pure style and your rare artistic discretion has been of incalculable value, and we have good reason to feel proud that so illustrious a master of his instrument as yourself should have made London his home during a considerable portion of every year.”

** 1913 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Berlin by soloists Carl Fleisch & Jean Gérardy with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

** 1919 - birth of Fritz Lustig (Germany) d.2017
cellist and financial career (accountancy & credit control)  {a German-Jewish emigrant to England during the Nazi era}

** 1958 - cellist Leonard Rose performed Schumann's "Fantasiestücke", Op.73 and Debussy's "Sonata for Cello and Piano" with pianist Jack Maxin as part of a benefit concert at Juilliard Concert Hall, New York

** 1963 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Joel Krosnick, with both David Garvey and Charles Wuorinen/piano

** 1965 - first performance of Robert Linn - Dithyramb, for eight cellos 
cellists: Ensemble from the American String Teachers Association, conducted by the composer /Dallas, Texas, USA)

** 1968 - first performance of Roger Sessions - 6 Pieces for cello
(New York)

** 1994 - birth of Thomas Batuello (The Bronx, New York, USA)
actor & cellist

** 1999 - first performance of Joshua Missal - Invocation and Dances, for Four Cellos
Group “Quatra Celli” in Los Angeles (USA), and subsequently on tour