1 June

** 1761 - on this day Franz Joseph Weigl was received as a cellist member of the Esterhazy Orchestra through a special recommendation of Joseph Haydn!

** 1776 - birth of George Schetky (Edinburgh) d.1831
cellist, teacher, composer and music publisher {based Scotland-USA}

** 1834 - birth of William Müller (Brunswick, Germany) d.1897 
cellist, court solo cellist  and professor {based Germany-USA} - played with The Müller Quartet, The Joachim Quartet.

** 1866 - birth of Max Jähnig (Dresden, Germany)
cellist, principal cello in the Kur Orchestra at Carlsbad, principal cello in Tonshalle Orchestra in Zurich, musician in court chapel of Stuutgart, chamber music player and teacher

** 1884 - on this day a French cellist called Vaslin published his “L’Art du Violoncelle” - he was by then ninety years old! Although little known, the work is understood to incorporate relatively modern aspects of cello playing

** 1884 - birth of Willem Dehé (Groningen, Holland) d.1942
cellist, orchestra principal cello & chamber musician {based Ukraine-USA}

** 1891 - birth of Roger Marie Bricoux (Cosne-sur-Loire, France) d.1912
a French cellist on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage - he died in the disaster

** 1907 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Mannheim by soloists Henri Marteau & Hugo Becker

** 1909 - birth of Antonia Butler (London) d.1997
cellist and professor

** 1971 - first performance of Peter Racine Fricker - Sarabande for solo cello (in Memoriam Igor Stravinsky)
soloist - Geoffrey Rutkowski (Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, University of California, USA)

** 1984 - birth of Joseph Kuipers (Rochester, MN, USA)
cellist, composer, writer and teacher

2 June

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

** 1926 - first performance of Zoltan Székely - Polyphon et Homophon, given by Paul Hermann (cello) and the composer on piano, at a concert of the 'Gesellschaft für neue Musik', Cologne, Germany

** 1933 - birth of Pedro Corostola (Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) d.2020
cellist, orchestral principal cello, chamber musician and professor

** 1950 - It had been five years since Pau Casals had last performed in public and he now did so on 2nd June in the church of San Pedro de Prades, in the new Prades Festival, interpreting Bach's “Suite No. 1”. The festival was a great worldwide success

** 1953 - first performance of Ginastera - Variaciones concertantes in the “Asociación de Amigos de la Música” of Buenos Aires
The Concertante Variations consist of a lengthy theme played only by the principal cello and the harp; each of the variations that follow is intended to highlight the possibilities and tonal beauty of a different solo instrument.

3 June

** 1839 - on this day English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with the double bassist Howell, the sonata Op.5/6 of Corelli

** 1865 - birth of Carl Fuchs (Offenbach am Main, Germany) d.1951
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & teacher; composer of a Violoncello method in three volumes

** 1891 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) a performance took place titled ‘Carl Fuchs Violoncello Recital’, with collaborators Amy Sherwin (vocal), Willy Hess (violin) and Leonard Borwick (piano), accompanied by George Clutsam

** 1913 - first performance of Anotonio Torrandell Jaume - Cello Sonata Op.21
(Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, Paris)

** 1927 - Felix Salmond gave a London Wigmore Hall recital, with the Dutch composer Richard Hageman at the piano

** 1970 - first performance of Webern - 2 Pieces for cello and piano (1899), and Cello Sonata (1914)
(Cleveland, USA)

** 1992 - birth of Kian Soltani (Bregenz, Austria)
cellist

4 June

** 1738 - birth of George III, King of United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland d.1820
Royalty…and an amateur cellist!

** 1767 - birth of Christian Friedrich Bauersachs (Pegnitz, Anspach, Germany) d.1845
cellist, basset-horn, oboist…and later miner!  

** 1870 - birth of Willy Deckert (Naumberg, Germany)
cellist, deputy capellmeister at the court of Luxemburg, teacher and composer

** 1907 - birth of John Adasskin (Toronto) d.1964
conductor, radio producer, administrator & cellist 

** 1915 - birth of Alan Shulman (Baltimore, Marland, USA) d.2002
composer & cellist

** 1926 - cellist May Mukle played the world premiere with her sister Anne of Vaughan Williams - Six Studies in English Folksong for violoncello and piano (this work is dedicated to her).

** 1952 - the New Orpheus Music group, founded by cellist Mervyn Vicars, made their debut at Chelsea Town Hall on this day

** 1982 - first performance of Lukas Foss - For 200 Cellos (A Celebration)
(University of Maryland, College Park, USA)

5 June

** 1841 - birth of Oscar Eberle (Krossen, Oder, Germany)
cellist, orchestra principal cello, opera principal cello and professor

** 1845 - on this day English cellist Robert Lindley performed, with the double bassist Howell, the sonata Op.5/6 of Corelli

** 1846 - on this day cellist Louis Pierre Norblin resigned from his post as professor of cello at the Paris Conservatoire, in order to ‘retire into private life’

** 1855 - birth of Hans Wihan {Hanuš Wihan} (Police nad Metují, Czech) d.1920
cellist, string quartet specialist & professor

** 1860 - birth of Alfred Steinman (Hanover, Germany)
cellist, chamber musician in the court orchestra of Hanover, chamber music player, teacher…and conductor of a ladies’ choir

** 1943 - After having been arrested the previous year and sent to prison, the trial of Anita Laster-Wallfisch and her sister took place on this date and she was sentenced to 18 months in concentration camp (and her sister three years and a half of forced labour). She was a prisoner until the liberation in 1945.

** 1961- on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording with violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan the Brahms - Double Concerto in A Minor, with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ferenc Fricsay (probably there were 2 recording days)

** 1962 - An interesting recital given by Gaspar Cassadó with Chieko Hara de Cassadó, piano
Programme: Marcello - 2 Sonatas [but no keys or numbers given] // Bach - Prelude, Suite No. 5 in c minor // Chopin - Fantasy in f minor // Chopin - Nocturne in f# minor // Chopin - 2 Etudes [but no keys or numbers given] // Strauss - Sonata

** 1999 - Javier Gómez Madrigal/cello and Miguel Ángel Ochavaldas/piano performed Roberto Gerhard - Sonata for cello and piano (1956) in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes deSan Fernando, Madrid, recorded live by Spanish National Radio.

6 June

** 1807 - birth of Adrien-François Servais (Hakke, Belguium) d.1866
cellist, professor & composer

** 1877 - birth of R.V. {Richard Valentine Prestridge} Tabb (Camden, London) d.1961
cellist, professor, assistant to William Whitehouse, member of the London Symphony (1904-1931), editor of music for cello

** 1878 - on this day cellist Luise Wandersleb married the pianist Alfred Patzig (1850−1927), who from then on also became her chamber music partner and accompanied her on both the piano and the organ. 

** 1903 - birth of Aram Il’yich Khachaturian (Tiflis, Georgia) d.1978
composer, conductor & cellist

** 1909 - birth of Willard Franklin Warch (Chicago, USA) d.2002
cellist, orchestra principal cello, professor & music theorist teacher

** 1911 - birth of Colin Hampton (London) d.1996
cellist / string quartet specialist

** 1961 - The Oxford Orchestral Society ‘Popular Evening Concerts’ featured the ‘Oxfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes’ conducted by Sydney Watson, with soloist  Amaryllis Fleming (cello).

** 1968 - birth of Kenneth Woods (USA)
conductor, cellist & composer, international workshops for young conductors, writer of a blog “View from the Podium”

7 June

** 1910 - first performance of Saint-Saëns - La muse et le poète, Op.132 for solo violin, solo cello and orchestra
{in the premiere the composer plays a piano reduction of orchestra} (Queen’s Hall, London)        

** 1930 -William Henry Squire was cello soloist in Camille Saint‐Saëns - Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor / Gaspar Cassadó - Pastorale / David Popper - 3 Pieces, Op 11No. 3 Mazurka in G minor / and Martini - Plaisir d'amour (arr. WH Squire), with the Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir Hamilton Harty {‘Northern Proms’ Concert, Free Trade Hall, Manchester - this was the final concerto performance given by William Henry Squire}

** 1939 - birth of Yuli Turovsky (Moscow) d.2013
cellist, conductor and teacher {based Canada]

** 1954 - The fourth Prades Festival (France), centred around Casals activity,was held from 7th to 23rd June, 1954. It was dedicated exclusively to Beethoven's chamber music and, apart from Casals himself, it had the participation of Joseph Fuchs, Trio Pasquier, Eugène Istomin, Szymon Goldberg, Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Rudolf Serkin. In this opening event Pau {Pablo} Casals (cello) played in a live performance that was recorded of Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2

** 1982 - Robert Cohen performed as cello soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Norman del Mar, at a Royal Gala Performance presented by the National Trust at the Royal Albert Hall (London). John Lill was also invited piano soloist.

8 June

** 1783 - birth of Joseph Linke [also written Lincke] (Trachenberg, now Żmigród in Poland) d.1837  
cellist, chamber musician & composer

** 1810 - birth of Robert Schumann (Zwickau, Germany) d.1856
composer, pianist, music critic…and adolescent cellist!

** 1844 - birth of Richard Bellmann (Freiburg, Germany) d. c1900
cellist, orchestra principal cello &chamber musician

** 1850 - first performance of Schumann - 5 Pieces in Folk Style, for cello and piano, Op.102        
Andreas Grabau/cello and Clara Wieck{Schumann}/piano (Schumann house concert, Germany)

** 1903 - William Henry Squire played his own compositions ‘Harlequinade’ and ‘Canzonetta’, at the Bechstein Hall, London (the ‘Harlequinade’ was dedicated to a most promising cellist, the twenty-year-old Arnold Foldesy, who would later become principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)

** 1922 - The Oxford Subscription Concerts organized a recital with cellist Guilhermina Suggia accompanied by George Reeves.

** 1960 - in a concert of the Society of Women Musicians (Great Britain), the S.W.M. Choir, conducted by Ruth Gipps, featured the cello soloist Antonia Butler

** 1976 - first performance of Marcel Rubin - Concertino for 12 Celli
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Great Hall of Musikverein, Vienna)

** 1988 - birth of Jonah Kim (South Korea)
cellist

9 June

** 1829 - birth of Gaetano Braga (Giulianova, Abruzzi, Italy) d.1907
cellist & opera composer

** 1860 - The distinguished cellist Ludwig Ebert (finally) gave the premiere of the Schumann Cello Concerto on 9th June 1860 in Leipzig, after years of uncertainty with the work, supported by the Gewandhaus Orchestra under the baton of Julius Rietz. 

** 1891 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) a Mr Farley Sinkins Orchestral Concert conducted by Frederic H. Cowen was heard, with soloists Messrs L. Duloup (violin), Ernest de Munck (cello) and Eugene Oudin (vocal) accompanied by Sidney Naylor.

** 1906 - a series of “Five Historical Violoncello Recitals” was presented by Boris Hambourg at the Aeolian Hall, London. The performances were given 'to illustrate the development of the cello literature from its earliest beginning to the present day'. On this very day he played the concert:
4. Composers of the latter half of the 19th Century - 9 JUNE

** 1915 - birth of Jane Cowan (England) d.1996
cellist, teacher

** 1948 - birth of Nathaniel Rosen (Altadena, California, USA)
cellist

** 1965 - birth of Timothy {‘Tim’} Hugh (England)
cellist, orchestral principal, chamber music

** 1984 - first performance of Morton Gould - “Cellos”, for eight cellos (double quartet)
cellists: ensemble at the 2nd American Cello Conference (Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA)

** 1993 - birth of Tessa Seymour (Berkeley, California, USA)
cellist

10 June

** 1796 - In the Madrid Gazette dated June 10th, 1796, there appeared an announcement to the “selling a cello concerto of Pablo Vidal”, which if it had reached us today it would have been the first cello concerto composed by a Spanish author; but of which unfortunately we do not have any copy.

** 1896 - the “Lady William Lennox's Ladies' Amateur Orchestra” gave a concert at 40 Prince's Gate, London, with invited soloists ‘Senor Guetary’ and ‘Madame Alexa’ (vocal), ‘Senor Rubio’ (cello) and Miss Juxon-Jones (violin), conducted by Lady William Lennox

** 1904 - birth of Henri Honegger (Switerland) d.1992
cellist, Bach solo suites specialist, recital musician

** 1941 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier finished recording (and probably all in one day!) of Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations, in Paris, with the Lamoureux Orchestra conducted by Eugène Bigot

** 1976 - first performance of Valentin Silvestrov - Meditation for cello and chamber orchestra
(Kiev)

11 June

** 1768 - cellist Christoph Schetky (born in 1740 in Darmstadt, Germany) left his home town for good in 1768. He went to Hamburg, where he appeared six times on the concert platform; the first one on today’s date, 11th June I 768, and up to October of that year. Then in 1870, he moved on to London where he made the acquaintance, and obtained the patronage of, Johann Christian Bach.

** 1791 - the cellist Menel performed in a quartet by Haydn at Mme Mara’s benefit concert (London).

** 1854 - birth of Bernhard Thieme (Altenburg, Germany) d.1890
cellist, orchestra principal cello

** 1889 - in the Princes’ Hall, Piccadilly (London) the last of a series of three chamber concerts took place featuring Josef Ludwig (violin) and W.E. Whitehouse (cello).

** 1890 - in the London Bechstein Hall there took place a ‘Miss Fanny Davies’s’ Grand Morning Concert, being a single-act performance of vocal and piano music by Robert and Clara Schumann … solo items were also performed, featuring the artists:
Herr Straus (violin), Signor Piatti (cello) and Fraulein Fillunger (vocal)

** 1892 - in the special series of eleven concerts “Adelina Patti Concerts”, given at the Royal Albert Hall, London (all of which involved the famous vocalist Adelina Patti) the performance on this day included guests Madame Amy Sherwin, Madame Patey, Mr Ben Davies, Mr Charles Chilley and Mr Santley (vocal) with Madame Marguerite de Pachmann (piano) and Master Jean Gerardy (cello), and the conducted by Signor Arditi.

** 1942 - birth of Krzysztof Sperski (Krakow, Poland)  
cellist, chamber musician, professor, pedagogue, academic teacher 

** 1964 - birth of Matthias Lorenz (Bernsheim, Germany)
cellist, contemporary music specialist

** 1976 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier finished the recording in Monte-Carlo of Lalo - Cello Concerto in D minor, with the Orchestra National de l’Opera de Monte-Carlo, Paris, conducted by Josif Conta (the other recording day was the previous day)

** 1976 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier finished recording the Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto in A minor in Paris, with the Orchestra National de l’Opera de Monte-Carlo, conducted by Josif Conta (the other recording day was the previous day)

** 1987 - André Bak/cello and Rosalina Caballín/piano performed Patxi Larrañaga - Sonata for cello and piano, in a performance recorded by Spanish National Radio
Ciudadela Sala de Armas, Pamplona, Navarre, Spain

12 June

** 1932 - birth ofJohn Sant’Ambrogio (Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA) {father of cellist Sara}
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & teacher

** 1987 - Release date (premiere screened in U.S.A.) of the film “The Witches of Eastwick” (español - ‘Las Brujas de Eastwick’)
directed by George Miller, starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer 
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American dark fantasy-comedy film.  Three single women in a picturesque village sit around and fantasize about and describe their idea of the ideal male. They have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives. One by one, they are seduced - then strange things begin to happen. Susan Sarandon and Jack Nicholson rehearse a portion of the Dvorak Cello Concerto.  The scene concludes with the cello bursting into flames. Also with music by Gershwin, John Williams, Carel Struycken & Puccini

** 1988 - Guido Schiefen offered a solo cello recital at a Galerie Concert of Alfred Kren, playing works by Max Reger, Michael Gregor Scholl and Miyazumi Orso

** 1989 - birth of Yuki Ito (Tokyo, Japan)
cellist, Rachmaninov specialist, founder of the ‘In Tune Orchestra’ (ITO) in 2013 and has since been active also as a conductor.

** 1997 - Gerhard Zank, cello and Donald Sulzen, piano, finish recording on this day both cello sonatas of George Enescu: Cello Sonatas (Op. 26, Nos. 1 and 2). They also recorded on the 8th and 11th June

13 June

** 1775 - birth of Anton Heinrich Radziwell (Grand Duchy of Posen) d.1833
cellist, composer and Governor of the Grand Duchy of Posen

** 1835 - on this date cellist Karl Dreschler played as soloist a Divertimento by Dotzauer at the “8th Elb Music Festival” (Germany). In a review which appeared in the “Allgemeine Musik Zeitung” about that performance, his tone and phrasing in the ‘cantabile’ are praised as being exceptionally fine, and also his great agility of the left hand, but it reported that the technique of the fingers was at the expense of his tone, although in the highest mastery they should both be equal as only then ‘bravoura’ could be looked upon as music (!)

** 1870 - birth of Thomas Jackson (Leeds, England)
cellist, member of “Leipziger Novitaten Quartett-Verein", cellist of  “Süddeutsche Streich Quartett" (South German String Quartet); professor at Freiburg Conservatoire {based Germany}

** 1904 - The first all-English women's string quartet (with Emily Shinner) was founded in 1886. It found its successor in the Nora Clench Quartet, in which, in addition to the Canadian namesake (who was a student of Adolph Brodsky in Leipzig), Lucy Stone, Cecilia Gates and cellist May Mukle participated. This ensemble made its debut on June 13, 1904 in the Æolian Hall, with string quartets by Mozart (C major) and Borodin (A major) to good critical acclaim:
“Both interpretations commended themselves by the admirable spirit with which they were performed and the considerable ensemble that the players have already attained” (The Violin Times).
England at the beginning of the 20th century was a great place to be based if you were a good lady musician - unbelievably, in 1900 there were 15 women's orchestras in London alone!

** 1940 - When the German army entered Paris on 13th June, 1940, Pau Casals, together with Francesca (then a secret love!) and the Alavedra family, chose to leave France from Bordeaux, aboard the ship "Champlain" bound for North America. However, moments before boarding, the ship was bombarded by the German forces, for which reason they decided to return to Prades to settle in Villa Colette

** 1974 - birth of Ophelie Gaillard (Paris)
cellist

** 1976 - at the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth (England) the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Berglund, featured cello soloist Arto Noras.

** 1991 - birth of Alexey Stadler (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
cellist

** 1994 - Rostropovich returned to the US White House for a performance for the Emperor and Empress of Japan, an event that also celebrated his seventeen years as director of the National Symphony Orchestra.

14 June

** 1965 - Daniil Shafran (Cello) and Nina Musinian (Piano) record 2 works: El amor brujo: ‘Danza Ritual del fuego’ ("Ritual Fire Dance") and Canciones populares españolas by Manuel de Falla

** 1979 - birth of Johannes Moser (Munich, Germany)
cellist

** 1981 - Rohan de Saram (cello) and Michael Hill (piano) gave a recital at the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, England - the programme included works by Edmund Rubbra - Cello Sonata Op.60, Prelude and Fugue on a theme by Cyril Scott, Op.69 and Discourse, Op.127

15 June

** 1763 - birth of Franz Ignaz Danzi (Schwetzingen, Germany) d.1826 {son of cellist Innocenz}
cellist, composer & conductor

** 1807 - Antonin Reicha completes the composition of a grand ‘trio for 3 cellos’

** 1855 - birth of Alwin Schroeder (Neuhaldensleben, Germany) d.1928
cellist, orchestra principal cello & chamber musician {based USA}

** 1860 - birth of Wladislaw Alois (Prague)
cellist, opera orchestra principal cello & teacher

** 1874 - Austrian cellist Louise Dellmayer was reviewed after a concert in London as playing "remarkable both for tone and finish" (‘Manchester Guardian’ - 15th June, 1874).

** 1909 - first performance of Moor - Cello Quartet, Op.95       
Cello quartet soloists: Pau Casals, Diran Alexanian, Joseph Salmon & André Hekking (Salle Pleyel, Paris)

** 1919 - birth of Eleanor {Catherine} Warren (London) d.2005
cellist, teacher and radio producer

** 1953 - birth of Raphael Wallfisch (London)
cellist

** 1959 - birth of Robert Cohen (London)
cellist

** 1976 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier finished recording, with violinist Yehudi Menuhin, of the Delius - Double Concerto, in the London Abbey Road Studios, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Meredith Davies (the other recording day was 10th June ‘76)

** 1986 - birth of Stjepan Hauser (Pula, Croatia)
cellist

16 June

** 1843 - birth of David Popper (Prague, Bohemia) d.1913
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician, teacher, composer & arranger

** 1903 - at 68 Great Cumberland Place. London, a mixed concert took place titled “Lucie von [van] Hulst's Violoncello Recital”, given with the assistance of Lucie Coenen (vocal) and the Von Hulst Trio (formed by Madame von Hulst/piano), Herr Johan von Hulst/violin and Lucie von Hulst/cello). This concert also included the first London performance of C. Coenen - Tarantelle, for cello 

** 1911 - in one sole concert Beatrice Harrison performs the Haydn - Cello Concerto in D, Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, and the Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations!

** 1915 - birth of Rudolf Kirs (Brandýs nad Labem, Czech) d.1963
cellist, orchestra principal cello

** 1921 - Felix Salmond performed as cello soloist in Strauss - Don Quixote at the London Queen’s Hall, conducted by Hamilton Harty

** 1953 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals (cello) played in a live recorded performance of Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1

** 1963 - birth of Angel Luis Quintana (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,Spain)
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & teacher and social causes co-coordinator (Fundación Columbus)

** 1992 - a concert promoted by the John Tunnell Trust at the Usher Hall (Edinburgh) featured the soloists Pinchas Zukerman (violin), Ralph Kirshbaum (cello) and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle

17 June

**1789 - on this day the whole Italian Opera House, Haymarket, London burned down; the cellist Cervetto the younger had a magnificent instrument (by luthier William Forster) that was lost in the fire. The regret felt by the loss of this instrument was so enormous that he was to retire altogether from the profession, knowing he would never have such an instrument again that suited him so well.

** 1968 - first performance of Britten - Solo Cello Suite No.2, Op.80      
soloist Mstislav Rostropovich (England - Aldeburgh Festival)

** 1977 - birth of Dominik Połoński (Krakow, Poland) d.2018
cellist (laterly right-hand cellist only)

** 1997 - Michael Hoppé and Martin Tillman release the disc “The Poet: Romances for Cello” on this day

** 1998 - first performance of Erik Bergman - Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra, Op.141 
Arto Noras, cello, with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, conducted by Ari Rasilainen, in the Naantali Chamber Music Festival (Naantali, Finland)

18 June

** 1673 - birth of Antonio de Literes {Antoni Lliteres} (Artá, Mallorca) d.1747
violinist, cellist, bass violist & composer

** 1809 - birth of Joseph Szablinski (Warsaw)
cellist, orchestra and opera principal cello & chamber musician

** 1859 - birth of Louise Dellmayer  (Vienna) d.1913
important Austrian woman cellist; in the years 1873 and 1874 she was engaged as solo cellist in the "First European Ladies Orchestra" directed by Josephine Amann-Weinlich . Later based in the U.S.A. and a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra

** 1881 - birth of Horace Britt (Antwerp, Belgium) d.1971
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & teacher {based USA}

** 1918 - birth of Eduardo Ortiz Lara (Guatemala City)
cellist, orchestra principal cello, professor (‘father of the Guatemala cello school’)

** 1954 - An interesting recital with a first performance given by Gaspar Cassadó with Alberto Ventura, piano
Programme: Frescobaldi - Toccata [now known to be by the cellist himself] // Mozart - Sonata in F, K. 458 [originally for piano 4-hands] // Beethoven - Sonata in G, Op. 5 No. 2 // Boccherini - Sonata in A // Granados - Intermezzo from Goyescas // E. Halffter - Habanera // Cassadó - Achares [premiere]

** 1954 - in the Herkules-Saal der Residenz (Munich, Germany): VI Konzert im Abonnement, presented by Musica Viva and given by the Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks directed by Nino Sanzogno, Ludwig Hoelscher was the special invited cello soloist

** 1957 - on this day cellist Enrico Mainardi finished recording Wagenseil - Cello Concerto in A Major, with the Munchener Kammerorchester (probably there were 2 recording days - he also directed the ensemble)

19 June

** 1865 - birth of Louis Victor Gaetan Amato (Paris) d.1913
cellist, a founder-member of the Chicago Orchestra during 1891-1901 (now the Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

** 1897 - Manuel de Falla writes ‘Melodía’ for cello and piano

** 1928 - at the Oxford Ladies' Musical Society (England) a recital was given by Alexander Fachiri (cello) and Angus Morrison (piano).

** 1949 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a performance was given by cellist Ellinor Benedict, with Rudolph Hildeman/piano

** 1964 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier made a live recording of Strauss - Don Quixote, Op.35, in Amsterdam, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by George Szell (and with Klaas Boon as viola soloist)

** 1992 - first performance of Robert Simpson - Cello Concerto
soloist - Raphael Wallfisch with BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vernon Handley (Malvern Festival, England)

** 1994 - first performance of Alfred Schnittke - Improvisation for cello
(Paris)

** 1998 - Steven Doane was cello soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, conducted by Gerhard Markson, at the National Concert Hall, Dublin

20 June

** 1819 - birth of Jacques Offenbach (Cologne, Germany) d.1880
composer, cellist & impresario

** 1849 - an English cello soloist with the name Hancock performed on this day the Cello Concerto in A minor, Op.5, by Kraft at The Philharmonic Society (London).

** 1872 - birth of Louis Feuillard (Dijon, France) d.1941
cellist, chamber music specialist & professor

** 1897 - a solo performance was noted by French cellist Marguerite (Anastasie) Baude in Meaux on this day

** 1935 - birth of Jennifer Ward Clarke (Yateley, England) d.2015
cellist, baroque cellist

** 1954 - at the Casals Festivals at Prades (France), Pau {Pablo} Casals (cello) played in a live performance that was recorded of Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5 No. 1 and Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102 No. 2

** 1982 - at The Stables, Wavendon (England) a cello recital was given by Clare Deniz (cello) and Susan Bradshaw (piano).

21 June

** 1839 - birth of William Herlitz (Meuselwitz, Duchy of Altenburg, Germany)
cellist, principal cello Bilse’s Orchestra in Berlin, solo cellist ‘concertmeister’ in the Ducal Chapel of Ballenstedt

** 1852 - Jos. Hartinger enters the Imperial Chapel, Vienna, as violoncellist

** 1863  birth of Anthiby Cink (Pibram, Czech)
cellist, professor at Krakow Conservatoire, principal cello in Elberfield Municipal Orchestra (Germany); cello teacher at Rauchenecker’s Music School (Elberfield), professor Warsaw Musical Union, member of Hermann Quartet (Warsaw)

** 1937 - birth of Raphael Sommer (Prague) d.2001
cellist & professor

** 1943 - first performance of Vermeulen - Cello Sonata No.2
Paul Tortelier/cello and Lia Palla/piano (Paris)

** 1979 - David Geringas was cello soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Klaus Tennstedt at the London Royal Festival Hall

** 1982 - first complete recording of the two sonatas for cello and piano by Marrhijs Vermeulen
performed by René van Ast & Arielle Vernède (at Veenendal, Holland)

** 1991 - birth of Wassily Gerassimez (Essen, Germany)
cellist and composer

22 June

** 1765 - on this day an English cellist called Mr. Gordon took over the management of London Covent Garden Theatre along with a Mr. Crawford and a Mr. Vincent.

** 1891 - at 105 Piccadilly (London) a ‘Signor Franceschetti Historical Concert’took place, with special soloists with Signor Ragghianti (violin) and Leo Stern (cello). This was a private concert, conducted by Signor V. Galiero.

** 1911 - birth of Harvey Shapiro (New York) d.2007
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician & teacher

** 1931 - birth of Oleg Kotzarew (Pyatigorsk, Caucasus, Russia) d.2002
cellist, orchestral principal cello, composer and teacher {based Argentina}

** 1942 - birth of Alain Meunier (Paris)
cellist

** 1976 - first performance of Frederick Delius - Romance for cello and piano
(Helsinki)

** 1999 - first performance of Colin Matthews - Palinode, for eight cellos
cellists: Alexander Baillie and Bremen Cello Ensemble (St. John’s Smith Square, London)

23 June

** 1711 - birth of Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (Bilegno, Piacenza, Italy) d. 1786
Italian luthier, few known cellos but of extraordinary quality

** 1888 - the Brahms - Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra was performed on today’s date in Stuttgart at the Musikfest here was a musical critic’s report (source unknown):
 “There is a basic mistake: it is called concerto, but isn’t one. I expect in a concerto that the solo instruments appear “concerted”, that they are essentially separated from the main body of the orchestra and that they are written expressly for soloists. But none of this is the case here. Violin and cello form two obligato voices, that emerge at times, but in general are so melded with the orchestra that often one doesn’t even hear them. The whole is a symphonic work in the true Brahms sonata style, very accomplished, as everything he does is, but so “internalized” in the working out that one is -not warmed by it.”

** 1906 - a series of “Five Historical Violoncello Recitals” was presented by Boris Hambourg at the Aeolian Hall, London. The performances were given 'to illustrate the development of the cello literature from its earliest beginning to the present day'. On this very day he played the concert:
5. Living Composers, including the first London performance of a Czardas by Dezsö Kordy and Romance sans Paroles by Landon Ronald. 23 JUNE

** 1927 - John Barbirolli (cello) gave a recital of ‘cello sonatas’ at the New Chenil Galleries, King's Road, Chelsea (London), with Ethel Bartlett (piano)

** 1960 - birth of Jan {Maślankiewic} Pogány (Kołobrzeg, Poland)  
composer , cellist & conductor {based Germany}

** 1981 - birth of Saerom Park (Saerom Emma Lou Park} (South Korea)
cellist {based Germany}

** 1987 - US President Ronald Reagan presented Rostropovich with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony

24 June

** 1686 - birth of Domenico Montagnana  (Lendinara, Italy) d.1750
Italian luthier, particulalrly known for his cellos

** 1746 - birth of Jean Baptist Rochefort (France) d. about 1819
principally a composer and double bass player, but frequently played the cello in orchestral performances

** 1767 - birth of Johann Daniel Braun (Cassel, Germany) d.1832
cellist, chamber musician in Royal Court of Potsdam

** 1844 - A month after his first public London debut, Piatti made his first appearance at a concert of the Philharmonic Society, on 24th June, following Mendelssohn’s performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with a Cello Fantasia by Friedrich August Kummer. Later in his life Piatti recalled that this was the only time that he heard an English audience call out ‘Bravo’ when he was in mid-phrase! The Morning Post praised his:  ‘magnificent violoncello playing [which] won universal admiration … the perfection of his tone and his evident command over all the intricacies of the instrument’, while the Times judged him ‘a masterly player on the violoncello. In tone, which foreign artists generally want, he is equal to [English cellist Robert] Lindley in his best days; his execution is rapid, diversified and certain, and a false note never by any chance is to be heard.’

** 1878 - birth of Edward Mason (Coventry, England)
cellist, chamber musician, professor and conductor

** 1897 - birth of Hermann Busch (Siegen, Germany) d.1975
cellist, orchestra principal cello, chamber musician

** 1906 - birth of Pierre Fournier (Paris, France) d.1986
cellist (‘The Aristocrat’)

** 1922 - After Pau Casals and Guilhermina Suggia had finished their relationship (in 1913) there was no reason why they had to communicate to each other about their concert activities, and it could occasionally lead to co-incidences! On this date the ‘Illustrated London News’ reported in an article titled ‘A Great ’Cellist Who Arranged to Play at the Queen’s Hall’:
“Mme. Suggia. the famous Portuguese ’cellist, arranged to give a recital on June 22 at the Queen’s Hall, where, on the 15th, Pablo Casals gave his only recital of the season here. London has thus had opportunity of comparing the two greatest living ’cellists with interval of one week between their performances.”

** 1992 - first performance of Andrzej Panufnik - Cello Concerto 
(London)

25 June

** 1750 - birth of J.J. Kriegck/Kriegk (Bibra, Merseberb, Germany)
cellist (initially violinist),orchestral soloist, chamber musician and composer 

** 1837 - birth of Joseph Werner (Würzburg, Germany) d.1922
cellist, teacher and composer 

** 1870 - birth of Herbert Walenn (London) d.1953
cellist and pedagogue

** 1887 - birth of Arnold Trowell (Wellington, New Zealand) d.1966
cellist, composer and pedagogue

** 1889 - a St James´s Hall Concert (London) titled ‘Mr L. Emil - Bach’s Grand Evening Concert’, featured the soloists Madame Sembrich and Miss Lena Little (vocal), ‘Monsieur J. Hollmann’ (cello) and Herr L. Emil Bach (piano), the orchestra conducted by W.G. Cusins.

** 1895 - on June 25, 1889, the then 19-year-old Mabel Chaplin completed the sisters trio in Princes' Hall for the first time:  
“Miss Nellie Chaplin gave a charming reading of Chopin's Polonaise in A flat, and Miss Kate […]  played on the violin Saint-Saens 'Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, wherein she displayed such excellent technique, intelligence, and refinement of taste as justify good hopes for her future. Miss Mabel chose as her 'cello solos the andante from [Georg]  Goltermann's concerto and  [Emile] Dunkler's 'La Fileuse,' in each of which she obtained well-deserved success, for which her artistic phrasing and good intonation were more than sufficient warrant. The three sisters also joined their forces to great advantage in [Josef Gabriel] Rheinberger's Trio, Op. 112, and the March from Schumann's 'Phantasiestücke' " 

** 1911 - birth of Dudley Powers (Moorhead, Minnesota, USA) d.2004
cellist, orchestra principal cello, conductor & teacher

26 June
** 1833 - in the First and Second Concerts of the 25th Yorkshire Annual Amateur Musical Meeting, given in the Hull and Sculcoates Public Rooms (England), on 26th and 27th June 1833, the first performance featured (as well as vocal soloists) as invited soloists Mr C. Miller (violin) and Mr Haddock (cello).

** 1855 - Offenbach wished to change directions and become an opera/theatre composer. He therefore approached the empresario Hervé, who agreed to present a new one-act operetta with words by Jules Moinaux and music by Offenbach, called Oyayaye ou La reine des îles.  It was presented on 26 June 1855 and was well received. Offenbach's biographer Peter Gammond describes it as "a charming piece of nonsense". The piece depicts a double-bass player, played by Hervé, shipwrecked on a cannibal island, who after several perilous encounters with the female chief of the cannibals makes his escape using his double-bass as a boat. Buoyed by success Offenbach immediately pressed ahead with plans to present his works, leaving to one side his cello performing career.

** 1865 - the finishing date of composition of the Twelve Caprices for solo cello by Alfredo Piatti was given as 26th June, 1865. Although the work was finished in 1865 it was first published in 1874, edited jointly by both Piatti and his former student, William E. Whitehouse

** 1954 - on this day cellist Pierre Fournier recorded (live?) the Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, in Vienna, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Rafael Kubelik

** 1961 - birth of Maria Pomianowska (Warsaw)
multi-instrumentalist, including vocalist, cello and Indian musical instruments, composer & teacher

** 1964 - on this day, and in one day, cellist Janos Starker recorded Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto in A minor, at the Watford Town Hall (near London), with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Dorati

** 1987 - birth of Fernando Arias (Madrid)
cellist, chamber musician & professor Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid

** 1997 - Lluis Claret/cello and Josep Maria Colom/piano made a live recording for Spanish National Radio of Gaspar Cassadó - Requiebros for Cello and Piano (pub.1931)
Patio de los Arrayanes, Granada, Andalusia, Spain

** 1999 - first performance of Colin Matthews - Palinode for nine cellos
(London)

27 June

** 1859 - Christian Kellermann gave a solo recital on this day in his role as ‘Royal Danish Chamber Virtuoso’ at the Solennitetssalen härstädes (Denmark)

** 1866 - birth of Julius Herner (Hanover, Germany)
cellist, principal cello Crystal Palace Orchestra (London)

** 1878 - birth of Percy Such (London) d.1959
cellist, chamber musician, substitute in the Joachim Quartet in England, composer, arranger and author of cello studies

** 1885 - birth of Guilherminia Augusta Suggia d.1950
cellist

** 1945 - on today’s date, with World War II having recently ended, Pau Casals gave a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult. At the end of the concert, Pau Casals sends a message to Catalonia from the BBC studios. However, after a week of concerts in England, Casals decides not to play again in this country in protest against the Allied countries' immobility with respect to General Franco's regime. He turns down Doctorates Honoris Causa both from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge

** 1964 - on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations, in Watford Town Hall (near London), with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Dorati (the other recording day was the previous day)

** 1965 - first performance of Britten - Solo Cello Suite No.1, Op.72      
soloist Mstislav Rostropovich (England - Aldeburgh Festival)

** 1990 - on this day cellist Janos Starker finished recording Strauss - Don Quixote, in Munich, with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted by Leonard Slatkin (with Oscar Lysy as viola soloist) - the other recording day was three days earlier…

28 June

** 1841 - the first performance (by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle ‘Le Peletier’ in Paris, France), of the two-act ballet ‘Giselle’, with music by Adolphe Adam. Giselle is a romantic ballet ("ballet-pantomime") and considered a masterwork in the classical ballet. In its premiere with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle the ballet was an unqualified triumph. Act II (Number 19) features a very important cello solo for the orchestral principal cellist.

** 1868 - birth of Johan Snoer (Amsterdam)   
cellist, orchestra principal cello and professional harpist 

** 1909 - About his formal concert debut on London ‘The Musical Times’ wrote on 1st Augurst 1909:
“Dr. Serge Barjansky, a violoncellist who made his first appearance at St. James Hall on June 28 proved to be a player if unusual ability. His tone was full and sweet, and he was able to execute with fluency and neatness passages of the greatest technical difficulty. He played Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D but it was chiefly in Klengel’s Caprice that his virtuosity was revealed.”

** 1916 - first performance of Hindemith - Cello Concerto, Op.3
conducted by composer, making his conducting debut! (Hoch Conservatory, Frankfurt, Germany)

** 1935 - first performance of Milhaud - Cello Concerto No.1
(Paris)

** 1977 - first performance of Xenakis ‘Kottos’ for solo cello
soloist - Varied competitors!  {La Rochelle Music Festival for Contemporary Music, Competition piece of the Mstislav Rostropovitch International Competition, France}

** 1985 - first performance of Udo Zimmermann - Canticum Marianum, for 12 Cellos
The 12 Cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic (Kulturpalast, Dresden, Germany)

** 1988 - birth of Kanon Wakeshima (Japan) 
cellist (Japanese music) & singer

29 June

** 1839 - birth of Hyppolite François Rabaud (Lalelles d’Ande, France)
cellist, principal cello in the Paris Opera Orchestra,  professor, and composed solos for cello and a tutor

** 1879 - first performance of Antonín Dvořák - Piano Trio op.26 & the Polonaise for cello and piano
Alois Neruda/cello and composer at piano (Turnov, Czech Rep)

** 1958 - birth of Rodolfo Zanni (Santiago del Estero, Argentina)
cellist, professor, bandoneonist & tango expert

** 1863 - soloist Alfredo Piatti performed the Julius Rietz - ‘Fantasia Appassionata’ at a Philharmonic Society orchestral concert on this day (London)

** 1965 - Daniil Shafran (Cello) and Nina Musinian (Piano) record 'Clair de Lune’ (Suite Bergamasque: 3rd movement) by Claude Debussy

** 1973 - on this day cellist Paul Tortelier finished recording Strauss - Don Quixote, in Dresden, with the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Rudolf Kempe (with viola soloist Max Rostal) (there were several recording days in that same week)

** 1985 - Yo Yo Ma performed as cello soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by André Previn, in the Royal Festival Hall (London) as part of the Andre Previn Music Festival.

** 1987 - Release date (premiere screened in London) of the film “The Living Daylights” {Spanish - “Alta Tensión”} directed by John Glen, starring Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo and Jeroen Krabbé.
James Bond is assigned to aid the defection of a KGB officer, General Georgi Koskov, covering his escape from a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia during an intermission. Bond notices that the KGB sniper assigned to prevent Koskov's escape is a female cellist from the orchestra. Bond begins suspecting that Koskov's defection and recapture were staged. He returns to Bratislava, posing to Kara Milovy as General Koskov's friend and discovers that Kara is in fact Koskov's girlfriend, who is observed by the KGB. The pair flee to Vienna, Austria, in the weaponized Aston Martin, pursued by KGB and Czechoslovak Police (Veřejná bezpečnost or VB — Public Security). Bond, however, is forced to destroy the car, whereupon he and Milovy sled down a snow-covered hill in Kara's cello case!

** 1997 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Jeffrey Solow, with Doris Stevenson /piano

30 June

** 1776 - birth of Samuel Benjamin Santo (Dresden, Germany)
cellist, opera orchestra musician, composer (many cello works)

** 1823 - birth of Selmar Bagge (Coburg, Germany) d.1896
cellist, composer and professor of composition, music school director

** 1865 - completion on this day of Dvorak’s - Cello Concerto No.1 in A Major (cello & piano score)  
at about 55 minutes duration this is one of the longest cello concertos on record!

** 1874 - birth of Johannes Hegar (Zurich, Switzerland) d. 1929
cellist, chamber musician (Frankfurt Trio) & professor

** 1886 - Arturo Toscanini, a young 19 year old professional cellist, makes his conducting debut in Rio de Janeiro as an emergency replacement at a performance of Verdi’s Aida

** 1894 - in a concert at St. James’s Hall, London titled “Estrèla Belinfante’s Morning Concert”, featured solo artists were Mr Ben Davies, Signorina Estrela Belinfante, Mr Eugene Oudin and Madame Marie Duma (vocal), Signorine Rosina and Bice Cerasoli (piano), Joseph Hollman (cello), Signor Maldura (mandolin), the Ploymnia Vocal Quartette, with the Meistersingers Bijou Orchestra

** 1912 - birth of Tibor de Machula (Cluj-Napoca, Rumania) d.1982 
cellist, orchestra principal cello 

** 1914 - when the ‘Society of Women Musicians’ (Great Britain) gave a concert in honour of its President Cécile Chaminade on June 30, 1914, Beatrice Langley and May Mukle were involved performing the French composer's 2nd piano trio

** 1937 - birth of Michael von Biel (Hamburg, Germany)
composer, cellist & graphic artist

** 1952 - on this day cellist Enrico Mainardi made a live recording of Haydn - Cello Concerto in D Major, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Lehmann

** 1965 - Gaspar Cassadó gave a recital at the Hochschule of Köln, Germsny, including Joaquín Nín Culmell - Suite Española (note: this was the German-Spanish composer son of Joaquín Nin y Castellanos)

** 1995 - Josñé Antonio Camargo/cello and María Encarnación Reina/piano made a live recording for Spanish National Radio of Gaspar Cassadó - Requiebros for Cello and Piano (pub.1931)
Palacio de Viana, Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain