Because of him, this special work by Bach is one of the most famous works known for the cello and a point of reference for all cellists. He was a Spanish cellist from Catalunya who is especially known for bringing back the Cello Suites to life after many years in the dark. Pablo Casals: Known as the father of the modern technique. The list can be long, but these names will definitely appear on any list of most famous cellists: There have been many famous cellists throughout history During the 20th century, the cello repertoire grew rapidly thanks to cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who commissioned and premiered over 100 works.Ĩ. Some of the most famous and important cello pieces are Bach’s solo suites, Elgar’s cello concerto in E minor, Dvorak’s cello concerto in b minor, Tchaikovsky’s Variation on a Rococo Theme, and Richard Strauss’ tone poem Don Quixote, just to name a few. However, the cello started gaining popularity because of it’s versatile and beautiful sound. Until the 18th century, the cello had limited solo repertoireīefore the 18th, the cello was used mostly as the basso continuo, hardly ever as a solo instrument. It was widely accepted after popular cellist F.A.

Before that, cellists had to hold the instrument with their legs. It arrived at the end of the 19th century. The endpin of the cello is one of its most recent innovations. The endpin wasn’t added until the 19th century It was later owned by famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovich from 1974 up until his death in 2007.Ħ. The cello has a small dent, that is said was caused by Napoleon Bonaparte when he tried to handle it but was too rough with the instrument while straddling the cello with his boots. It is named after Jean-Louis Duport, who played it around 1800. The label inside the cello says 1684, but according to Webber, it is listed in Henley’s book as the last cello Stradivari ever made, in 1736.ĭuport Stradivarius: it was made in 1711 by Antoni Stradivari. It is uncertain when the instrument was created. Julian has made more than 30 award-winning recordings on the instrument. It is now owned by Julian Lloyd Webber, son of famous composer and producer of musicals such as Jesus Christ Super Star, Cats, and The Phantom Of The Opera. The more you attack it, the less it returns”.īarjansky Stradivarius: This cello also created by Antoni Stradivari is named after Russian cellist Alexandre Barjansky, who played it during the first half of the 20th century. It is currently being loaned to Yo-Yo Ma who commented that “Jackie’s unbridled dark qualities went against the Davydov. Jaqueline Du Pre owned it but didn’t like its unpredictability. It is currently in the National Music Museum in South Dakota.ĭavidov Stradivarius: It was made in 1712 by luthier Antonio Stradivari in Cremona Italy. The King: created by Andrea Amati, it’s one of the oldest known cellos. The oldest known cello in existence today dates from the mid-1500s It is tuned at the same intervals as the viola, but one octave lower.ĥ. The one strings are – starting from the lowest one – C G D A. This is no lon ger the case, and now cello strings are made from metallic material. The strings of the cello were originally made with sheep and goat gut. Cello strings were originally made from sheep and goat gut In this family, the cello became the second lowest instrument.ģ. However, this group of instruments ran out of fashion and were replaced by the violin family, a group of much larger sounding instruments. It’s origin date from the 1500s and up until the end of the 17th century, the violoncello was the lowest-sounding instrument of the viol family. It’s the second largest instrument in the string family. An Italian word that really means “ little large viola.” The plural word for cello is celli or cellos. The word cello comes from the Violoncello. The word cello originally meant “little large viola” If you are interested in learning the cello or are just curious about it, read on to learn these interesting facts. It’s very popular in modern music but holds a fascinating, long history. The cello is without a doubt one of the most beautiful sounding instruments out there.

Building a cello repertoire