On this cello day

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

** 1862 - birth of Leo Stern (Brighton, England) d.1904
cellist, composer of some pieces for cello. However, without a doubt, he is best remembered for being the soloist in the premiere performance of Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor in London in 1896.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

** 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

** 1877 – at a Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert, Reinhard (Reinhold) Hummer was cello soloist in the Volkmann – String Serenade No.3. Orchestral works of Schumann, and Mendelssohn were also heard.
Conductor: Hans Richter

** 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).

** 1902 – cellist Francesca Vidal Puig had taken part in a concert of the Barcelona Philharmonic Society on February 23rd, 1902, in which she played Beethoven's Sonata in A major, accompanied by composer-pianistIsaac Albéniz on the piano, and Beethoven's Trio in B flat major "Archduke" with Albéniz and Crickboom. In relation to this concert, ‘El Diluvio’ newspaper of March 5th of that year wrote:
"La Señorita Vidal is a disciple of the illustrious Casals, she plays like her maestro, and with that everything could have been said; but we can still say more, and yes…. that we like her more than her maestro, [...] because her artistic content and virginal attitude captivate the senses and the intelligence of the spectators”.

** 1905 - cellist Gerard Hekking performed as soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in Haydn – Cello Concerto in D Major. Two concerts, in Amsterdam (5th March) and Den Haag (27th March), conducted by Willem Mengelberg

** 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 (the dedicatee) with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hamilton Harty (London - Queen’s Hall)

** 1945 – Norina Semino participated as cellist of the Zorian String Quartet in the premiere of Doreen Carwithen - String Quartet No. 1, at the Duke's Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London

** 1949 – on this date the premiere was heard of Nikolav Myaskovsky’s Cello Sonata No.2, in A minor, Op.81, by Mstislav Rostropovich (cello, also the dedicatee) and the composer on piano. The music was published the following year.

** 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

** 1958 - cellist Tibor de Machula performed as soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in Bloch – Schelomo. Three concerts, in Amsterdam (5th and 6th March) and Rotterdam (18th March), conducted by Bernard Haitink

** 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.

** 1992 – birth of Abel Selacoe (Sebokeng, South Africa)
cellist and composer. Artistic Partner of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Recordings on Warner Classics.

** 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.

** Birthday greetings - Wendy Warner (born Chicago)
North-American cellist