On this cello day

** 1808 - birth of Moritz Hanemann (Löwenberg, Germany) d.1884
cellist, member of Royal Chapel of Berlin; teacher of violoncello, piano and flute; produced witty and sparkling contributions to music papers!

** 1814 - Charles Neate performed as cellist in a quartet giving the premiere of a string quartet by Griffin.

** 1845 - on this day Anton Träg was engaged as cello professor at the Conservatoire of Prague

** 1857 – birth of Gustave Adolph Kerker (Hereford, Prussia) d.1923
A composer, cellist, and conductor who spent most of his life in the United States. Kerker played the cello in pit orchestras at local theatres, learning how to conduct. He became a musical director for Broadway theatre productions, and wrote the music for a series of operettas and musicals produced on Broadway and in the West End. His most famous musical was ‘The Belle of New York’ (1897). In 1909, he was asked to leave Germany by authorities for having failed to perform military service in his youth. He was one of the nine founding members of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1914.

** 1864 - birth of Rudolf Glickh (Vienna) d.1945
cellist, professor at the church music school of the Votiv-Church in Vienna, teacher of the violoncello and musical theory at the music school of L. Liebing; Capellmeister at the Votiv Church, composer of church music

** 1869 – in a Hellmesberger Quartet Concert in Vienna, on this occasion a piano trio comprising Josef Hellmesberger (violin), David Popper (cello) and Sophie Menter (piano). The main work was Beethoven - Piano Trio No.1, Op.1/3.

** 1873 - an interesting review appeared on this date from the Birmingham Daily Post (Birmingham, England), not only for the interpretation but for the instrumental presentation:
 “M. Van Biene, whose violoncello playing seems to combine with the tenderness and refinement of Daubert, much of the breadth and power of Piatti, played the Bach Sarabande with harmonium accompaniment, in the German fashion, by Dr. Heap, with such telling effect as to elicit a recall.”

** 1875 - birth of Agga Fritsche (Copenhagen)
cellist, probably the first woman Danish cellist to give solo performances

** 1888 - first performance (private concert) of Tchaikovsky - Nocturne, in the version for cello and piano
soloist Anatoly Brandukov with composer at piano (house concert at home of M.P. Benardaky, Paris) - see next entry!

** 1888 - the Andante cantabile from Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1, Opus 11 (1871), was arranged for cello and string orchestra by the composer for a concert in February 1888. The orchestral version was transposed to the key of B major; in the quartet the movement is set in B-flat major. The first performance appears to have been at a private concert in Paris at the home of Marie de Benardaky on 28th February 1888, by members of Édouard Colonne's Orchestra, with Anatoly Brandukov as the soloist, conducted by the composer. Five days later, on 4th March 1888, the piece was given its public premiere at the 16th Châtelet concert in Paris, with the same soloist and conductor.

** 1888 - first performance of Tchaikovsky - Pezzo Capriccioso, in the version for cello and piano
soloist Anatoly Brandukov with composer at piano (house concert at home of M.P.Benardaky, Paris)

** 1900 - at the Curtius Concert Club, Piccadilly (London), the Willy Hess String Quartet gave a chamber music concert. An interesting anecdote is that ‘Herr Grützmacher (cello) was replaced by Herbert Walenn for this concert and the programme was revised as a result - the listeners finally heard string quartets by Beethoven, Smetana, and Schumann.

** 1921 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Berlin by soloists Gustav Havemann & E. Feuermann with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

** 1924 - Felix Salmond played as soloist in the New York Carnegie Hall - probably he was thinking of the Elgar Cello Concerto, but either the orchestra or the conductor insisted on the Dvořák Cello Concerto. The concert was with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg

** 1929 - Beatrice Harrison was solo cellist in a Reid Orchestral Concert on this day. She performed two concertos: Delius - Cello Concerto and Haydn - Cello Concerto (of course, the D Major, because the C Major hadn’t yet been discovered!), with the Reid Symphony Orchestra conducted by Donald Tovey.

** 1931 - at the Beethoven Hall, Berlin, an ‘Only Cello Evening’ was offered by Gregory Peker (cello).

** 1931 – William Pleeth gave his final performance as a student (under Klengel) on 28th February 1932. He performed the Haydn – Cello Concerto in D Major, making this his concerto debut playing with an orchestra, rather than piano accompaniment. It must surely have been noteworthy, for the ‘Leipziger Abendpost’ wrote:
“With the Haydn Concerto William Pleeth shows himself to be a ‘cellist who, with his amazing technique and beautiful tone, is to be classed as a virtuoso.”

** 1962 - cellist Tibor de Machula performed as soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in Schumann - Cello Concerto, Op.129. Four concerts, in Den Haag (24th February) and Amsterdam (28th February, and 1st and 3rd March), conducted by Bernard Haitink

** 1980 - a Reid Chamber Concert took place on today’s date at Reid Concert Hall (Edinburgh) featuring a chamber music group that included Rohan De Saram - cello, who opened the recital playing the Finale to the Kodaly - Solo Cello Sonata, Op.8

** 1981 - first performance of Dr. Ruth Gipps MBE - Sonata for Cello and Piano; Op.63 (written in 1978)
cellist/Lorraine Nagioff / pianist ? - London

** 1986 – birth of Isiah Aram Minasian (Brighton, East Sussex, England)
A British-Armenian violinist, cellist and professional orchestrator, playing with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France from 2011 to 2014 (he was also the 3rd assistant conductor). He received the first honorary Offenbach Music Award for both his solo violin and cello playing! Minasian was awarded the honorary award "Ordre national de la Chevalier d'honneur" from the French Minister of Culture and Art, and won the first prize of the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition at Helsinki, later moving to Norway.
Minasian is an experienced professional orchestrator; well-known composers and film production companies hire him to arrange melodies for orchestras or movie music pieces. Minasian is currently composer-in-residence at the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, South Korea.