1885

Egon Wellesz

(21 October 1885 – 9 November 1974)

Austrian-British composer, teacher, and musicologist

Here is his Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 31 (1920), recorded by cellist Anna Sawicka:

1906

Tomojirō Ikenouchi

(21 October 1906 – 9 March 1991)

 Japanese composer and professor

Here is his “Ballade” performed by his grandaughter, cellist Kristina Cooper, and pianist Uri Brener:

1908

Howard Ferguson

(21 October 1908 – 31 October 1999)

Irish composer and musicologist

Here is “The Green Bushes,” from his Five Irish Folk Tunes performed by cellist Tony Ross and pianist Bryon Wilson:

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1921

Sir Malcolm Arnold

(21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006)

 English composer

Photo by Chester-Novello, Fair use.

Here is the Allegretto from his Fantasy for unaccompanied cello recorded by Julian Lloyd Webber:

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1921

Jarmil Burghauser

(21 October 1921, Písek – 19 February 1997)

Czech composer, conductor, and musicologist

He created a catalog of works by Antonín Dvořák. Here is his orchestration of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in A Major recorded by cellist Miloš Sádlo and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Václav Neumann:

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1949

Shulamit Ran

Happy birthday!

Israeli-American composer

Here are her Fantasy Variations (1979, rev. 1984) for solo cello performed by cellist Tom Kraines:

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1962

Fredrik Sixten

Happy birthday!

Swedish composer, cathedral organist, and conductor

Here is his “Epilogue” recorded by Pellas G Hansson:

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1968

Giovanni Ricciardi

Happy birthday!

German cellist

Photo by Microne, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Here are excerpts of a 2018 recital he gave with pianist Massimiliano Damerini:

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1973

Lera Auerbach

Happy birthday!

Russian-American composer, conductor, and concert pianist

Photo Credit: Friedrun Reinhold

Here she performs her Cello Sonata with cellist Alisa Weilerstein:

Your Turn

Know of other cellists, cello makers, composers of music played by cellists, or those with a strong tie to the cello world born on this day? This is a work in progress. We’d love to hear from you if you have suggestions, additions, or corrections. Thank you!

We include those with recordings and/or images available online.