1825

Johann Strauss II

(25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899)

Austrian composer

Here is his “Pizzicato Polka,” written with his brother Josef, performed by James Yoo:

1838

Georges Bizet

(25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875)

French composer

Here are 125 cellists performing an arrangement of music from his opera, Carmen:

Bizet – “Melodrama and Sicilienne” from L’Arlesienne (Transcribed for Cello and Piano)

1864

Alexander Gretchaninov

(25 October [O.S. 13 October] 1864 – 3 January 1956)

Russian-American composer

Here is his Cello Concerto in a minor, Op. 8, performed by Alexander Ivashkin with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Valeri Polyanski:

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1866

Georg Schumann

(25 October 1866 – 23 May 1952)

 German composer

By Schumann Family – File: Schumann.jpg, CC BY 2.0 de.

Here is the first movement of his Cello Sonata in e minor, Op. 19, recorded by cellist Gerhard Zank and pianist Donald Sulzen:

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1923

Don Banks

(25 October 1923 – 5 September 1980)

Australian composer

Photo: AMC

Here are his Three Studies for Cello and Piano, performed by cellist Geoffrey Gartner and pianist Daniel Herscovitch:

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1926

Galina Vishnevskaya

(25 October 1926 – 11 December 2012)

Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist – wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich

Photo: Galina_Vishnevskaya.jpg: Alexey Yushenkov, derivative work: Diliff – This file was derived from Galina Vishnevskaya.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Here she and her husband (playing the piano, rather than the cello) perform a program of Tchaikovsky in 1964:

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1931

María de Macedo

Happy 91th birthday!

Portuguese cellist and teacher

Here is a video of her teaching:

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1946

Peter Lieberson

(25 October 1946 – 23 April 2011)

American composer

Photo by Rinchen Lhamo. From obituary in The Guardian.

Here are his 6 Realms for Cello and Orchestra, recorded by cellist Michaela Fukačová with the Odense Symphony Orchestra conducted by Justin Brown:

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1957

Colin Carr

Happy birthday!

British cellist and teacher

Photo © Benjamin Ealovega

Here he performs the Prelude of Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major:

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1962

Andrzej Bauer

Happy birthday!

Polish cellist, conductor, and composer

Here he performs Jerzy Bauer’s Sonata in One Movement with pianist Jan Krzysztof Broja:

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.