Here’s your weekly dose of cello news.
Cello News
–
Sheku Kanneh-Mason Loaned 1700 Gofriller Cello
Photo: Mark Allan/Chineke!
This week The Strad reported that the Florian Leonhard Fellowship facilitated the long-term loan of a 1700 Matteo Gofriller cello to British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. An anonymous group of private investors purchased the cello for Kanneh-Mason’s use.
Kanneh-Mason said that the cello
“has an uncanny capacity to respond – almost to anticipate my style of playing – and what I strive for artistically.”
Before the Gofriller, Kanneh-Mason performed on a 1610 Brothers Amati cello, also facilitated by Florian Leonhard.
Congratulations, Sheku Kanneh-Mason!
Read the full story in The Strad. Also – be sure to scroll down and hear the podcast interview with Kanneh-Mason.
Cellist Gabriel Martins Joins London’s Young Classical Artists Trust Roster
London’s Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) announced twelve new 2021 additions to their roster, including cellist Gabriel Martins.
Congratulations to Martins and all of the new YCAT artists.
See the full list and read the story here on The Violin Channel.
Cellist Michael Ronstadt Co-Lab
This week cellist Michael Ronstadt’s Co-Lab project was featured on WKRC in Cinncinati. In the featured episode, he works with Ron Esposito and his singing bowls. Learn more about Ronstadt’s series here. Watch the news feature here.
Cellist Brianna Tam Builds Her Own Sound
Discouraged by her teacher in her musical exploration of her relationship with the cello, she fearlessly dropped out of school to continue her journey outside of academia. We hope that if she ever looks for another teacher, she finds someone like cellist Stijn Kuppens who encourages students to find their “Inner Cello.”
Read more about Tam and her musical journey in the original article by Sayaka Matsuoka.
Here is her recent album:
R.I.P. Richard R. Ernst, Swiss Physical Chemist, Nobel Laureate, and Cellist
Dr. Richard R. Ernst. Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Unbekannt / Portr_13862 / CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Swiss physical chemist and Nobel laureate, Dr. Richard R. Ernst (14 August 1933 – 4 June 2021), who played the cello in his youth and even contemplated being a professional musician, has died at age 87.
Ernst received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his contributions to the development of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy” and the 1991 Wolf Prize in Chemistry for his “revolutionary contributions to NMR spectroscopy, especially Fourier-transform and two-dimensional NMR.”
According to a 2001 interview, he said that
“he was not a good student in his younger years and almost got thrown out of high school. He also often recounted that he carried out chemistry experiments in his basement as a youngster, sharing how his interest was kindled at age 13 when he found a case filled with chemicals in the attic of the house that had belonged his late uncle, a metallurgical engineer.”
We offer our condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and students. R.I.P. Richard R. Ernst.
Click here to read the full obituary by Rebecca Trager.
Podcasts
Music to My Ears Podcast: Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
Here is the official podcast description:
As he turns 70 years old, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber tells us about his remarkable life in music, from growing up in one of Britain’s most famous musical families to performing on the world’s finest stages and his unending passion for helping to create tomorrow’s great players.
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the London Mozart Players, and Croydon Music and Arts
Enjoy this inspirational podcast! Sheku Kanneh-Mason is making his mark and inspiring the next generation of cellists.
Here is the podcast description:
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason appears at the BBC Proms this summer playing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto. In the run up to that performance he’s appeared with the London Mozart Players performing the same work. And he’s worked with cellists half his age in Croydon sharing a bit of the Sheku sparkle. In this podcast hear from Sheku and musicians and teachers from Croydon Music and Arts about the impact the 22-year Black cellist really has. Be sure to have a handkerchief to hand.
Album
(Some links on this page are affiliate links. Please see the footer for more information. Thank you for your support.)
Matt Haimovitz – Primavera Project
The Primavera Project is a series of 81 unaccompanied cello works commissioned for cellist Matt Haimovitz. These works were inspired by Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera (c.1480) and Charline von Heyl’s Primavera 2020. Learn more about this project, watch videos, and find out about related events here.
Release date: 11 June 2021 (This is the first volume of the 81 works.)
Videos
Antarctica: Life Emerging
Here is the description from Yo-Yo Ma’s YouTube video:
Thanks to everyone who tuned in to the world premiere of “Antarctica: Life Emerging.” For #WorldOceansDay, I’m happy to share the full film here. Learn more about how you can help protect Antarctica ▶️ https://only.one/act/antarctica
Created by composer Marcus Goddard and SeaLegacy, this 13-minute film features cinematography by Paul Nicklen Photography. I was honored to contribute a solo performance along with forty artists from eighteen orchestras from around the world. The piece was co-commissioned by the Aventa Ensemble with assistance from the BC Arts Council and by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Yo-Yo Ma – Piazzola: Libertango (from “Soul of the Tango”)
This is from 1997 but posted on Yo-Yo Ma’s channel on 7 June 2021.
My Beautiful Brown Boy, from the opera DWB (Driving While Black)
“Where the Soul Never Dies / Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram” – Sandeep Das & Mike Block
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – From Above (Live)
Your Turn
Have cello news you’d like included? Please get in touch.
