He also hung out with people like Liszt and Hans von Bülow, so that pretty much makes him musical royalty just by association.įew stories are as romantic, tragic and human as Jacqueline du Pré’s. Not content with being one of the greatest cellists of his generation, David Popper also composed some truly fiendish works for the instrument. His vibrato is full-blooded and warm, his power in forte is almost unparalleled. But aside from that, he was a student of the great Mstislav Rostropovich and has since enjoyed an international career thanks to the intensity of his playing. Maisky has one of the most essential ingredients for any cellist - iconic hair.
Whether he’s being discovered by Leonard Bernstein, playing bluegrass or lying on the floor with a wombat, he’s an ambassador for the instrument - loved and respected in equal measure. JLW announced his retirement from the cello in 2015 due to shoulder fatigue but, thankfully, since then he’s been able to keep up a modest calendar that reminds of us just what an extraordinary, lyrical talent he still is.Īsk anyone who the most famous cellist in the world is, and chances are they’ll say Yo-Yo Ma. What a force for good.Īnother fine ambassador for the instrument, and a long-serving one at that. He’s written children’s books about music, he’s premiered modern works and he continues to electrify concert-goers all over the world. More proof that a fine head of hair can stand you in good stead for a lifetime playing the cello, Steven Isserlis is fast become a national treasure thanks not only for his incendiary playing, but also for just being a lovely, lovely bloke. A pupil of Rostropovich, she shares with him that certain indefinable poise that comes out of the Russian school of cello playing. She’s by no means the most famous name on our list, but her sheer verve and electricity as a performer guarantee her place. In his later years, he also taught Julian Lloyd Webber. But that didn’t mean he was in any way polite or conservative: in fact, his apparent ease just makes his musicianship all the more impressive. Having played with the likes of Fritz Kreisler and performed in front of Theodore Roosevelt, you could say he was pretty well respected.įournier was known in musician circles as ‘the aristocrat of cellists’, thanks to his refined sound and stage presence. The Spanish cellist was responsible for some of the most scintillating Bach recordings ever made, and was a genuine link between the modern age and the true history of the instrument.
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