Historical Events of April 7
7 April
** 1838 - birth of Ferdinand Thieriot (Hamburg, Germany) d.1919
composer, cellist and teacher
** 1863 – the world premiere of David Popper’s Konzertstück for Violin and Violoncello took place on this date with the Löwenberg Orchestra – the soloists were Julius Stern, violin and David Popper himself on cello
** 1922 - Pau {Pablo} Casals debuts as a conductor (New York, Carnegie Hall)
** 1926 - birth of Eva Czako Janzer (Calcutta, India) d. 1978
cellist & teacher
** 1930 - cellists Benar Heifetz and Joachim Stutschewsky performed with the Arnold Schönberg-affiliated Pierrot lunaire ensemble from Vienna - the group also featured Erwin Stein (condictor), Erika Stiedry-Wagner (vocalist), Rudolf Kolisch (violin), Viktor Polatschek (clarinet), Franz Wangler (flute & piccolo) and Eduard Steuermann (piano)
** 1939 - birth of Adrian Shephard (Essex, England) d.2013
cellist & conductor.
He founded and conducted ‘Cantilena’, being the artistic director of the Cantilena Festival on Islay, Scotland.
** 1972 - cellist Tibor de Machula performed as soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in Dvorak - Cello Concerto, Op.104. Three concerts, in Amsterdam (6th and 9th April) and Den Haag (7th April), conducted by Bernard Haitink
** 1978 – on the 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th of this month, cellist Lorne Munroe performed as invited soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Jochum), in the Avery Fisher Hall (New York)
** 1982 - release date / premiere of the film, in France, of “Salut, j'arrive” (English: ‘Hi ... I'm coming!); a French film directed by Gérard Poteau. The role of ‘L'homme au violoncelle’ (The man with the cello) featured Maurice Louis Baquet, an ideal person for the role as he was a French actor and cellist.
** 1987 – on 6th and 7th April. 1987, cellist Ofra Harnoy recorded a series of Vivaldi cello concertos with the Toronto Chamber Orchestra, at St. Timothy Church, Toronto
** 1994 - Lynn Harrell appeared as soloist at the Vatican with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gilbert Levine, in the Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah - the audience for this historic event, which was the Vatican's first official commemoration of the Holocaust, included Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome
** 1997 - on this day cellist Daniil Shafran was booked to give a recital in the Auditori Winterthur Hall, Barcelona - but to the sadness of the entire cello world he had passed away exactly two months earlier (7th February 1997)
** 1997 – birth of Laura van der Heijden (West Sussex, England)
Cellist. Winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year (2012). In the 2025/26 season she is Artist in Residence at Scotland’s Lammermuir Festival.
