Historical Events of May 3
3 May
** 1792 - the cellist Menel performed in a divertimento by Haydn in London.
** 1829 - in a sale on this day of the estate of the late Sir William Curtis (1752 – 1829 - an English businessman, banker and politician; and well-known for the banquets which he hosted!), “lot 9” was a violoncello of Andreas Amati dating from1572. A document was given to the new proprietor upon purchase stating that it was passed over by Pope Pius V to Charles IX, King of France, for his chapel. It was an instrument of great power and richness. The minimum price asked in the sale was 500 guineas but it actually sold for 280 guineas. When the cello came up for sale again in 1872 these assertions about the instrument were not able to be independently proven!
** 1841 - English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with second cellist Lucas and the double bassist Dragonetti, a sonata of Corelli.
** 1896 - cellist Rosa Brackenhammer performed in a recital of voice, cello and piano in Leeuwarden (Netherlands), including works of Bruch, Brahms and Massenet. The following day the press wrote:
"Concert tour of the Brackenhammer siblings" (Leeuwarder Courant, 4th May, 1896), but no other venues are known.
** 1903 - Pau Casals begins a concert tour of South America with Harold Bauer and Moreira de Sá
** 1911 - May Mukle gave the world premiere of Thomas Frederick Dunhill ‘Variations on an old English tune’ and Gustav Holst's ‘Invocation’ (each for cello and orchestra)
** 1917 - first full orchestral performance of Bloch - Schelomo, for cello and orchestra
soloist - Hans Kindler conducted by Artur Bodanzky
** 1919 - ‘Ballata and Ballabile’, Op 160, for solo cello and orchestra, by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) was first performed by Beatrice Harrison and Hamilton Harty in Stanford’s cello & piano arrangement on 3rd May 1919 at the Wigmore Hall in London
** 1927 - birth of Philip Blum (Chicago, USA) d.2009
cellist, orchestra player (incredibly for 50+ years he was a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra!), recording artist
** 1931 – virtuoso cellist Emanuel Feuermann returned to the Leipzig Conservatoire to play the Julius Klengel Cello Concerto in D minor, Op.20 – probably with orchestra.
** 1939 – the Russian/American cellist Sara Gurowitsch performed at a meeting of the National Council of Jewish Women, as reported by ‘The Record’ on May 3rd, 1939. Sara Gurowitsch, sadly, almost left the professional stage entirely after marriage in 1919, but occasionally still performed at Jewish events.
** 1946 - birth of Michael Flaksman (Akron, Ohio, USA) d.2019
cellist, professor and music courses founder
** 1985 – on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th of this month, cellist Lorne Munroe performed as invited soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Mehta), in the Avery Fisher Hall (New York)
** 1990 - first performance of William Bolcom - Cello Sonata
(Boston, USA)
** 1991 – birth of Becca Bradley (Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.)
Better known as Becca Bradley, she is an American Christian musician and cellist, with a Christian pop style of worship. Her mission is to make great pop music that will speak into relevant issues and point listeners to the heart of God. She has played at a number of CMA events where she shared stage with notable artists such as Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, and more. She lives in Franklin, TN where she works as a full-time session player.
** 1993 - Catherine García/cello and María Elena Barrientos/piano performed Rodolfo Halffter - Sonata for cello and piano, Op.26, recorded live by Spanish National Radio
Centro de Arte “Reina Sofía, Madrid
