The violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation:[vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), normally simply abbreviated as cello ( CHEL-oh), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, tenor clef, alto clef and treble clef used for higher-range passages.
An étude or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano. Of the vast number of études from that era some are still used as teaching material, and a few, by major composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Claude Debussy, achieved a place in today's concert repertory. Études written in the 20th century include those related to traditional ones and those that require wholly unorthodox technique.
Adrien-François Servais was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in what is now Halle, Belgium. He is one of the founders of the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris and Madrid, which began through collaboration with his friend Auguste Franchomme and his disciple Víctor Mirecki Larramat. His compositions are still studied, performed and recorded all over the world. Two of his sons also had musical careers and performed his music.
Jean-Louis Duport, sometimes known as Duport the Younger to distinguish him from his older brother Jean-Pierre (1741-1818), was a cellist, pedagogue, and composer.
Víctor Alexander Marie Mirecki Larramat was a Spanish cellist and music teacher of Franco-Polish origin. He was born in Tarbes, France and died in Madrid, Spain.
Lucien Durosoir was a French composer and violinist whose works were rediscovered thanks to manuscripts found by his son Luc. Durosoir studied the violin with Joseph Joachim and Hugo Heermann in Germany before his first tour as a young virtuoso in 1899. In addition to giving the first performances of French music in Austria-Hungary and Germany, he also gave the French premiere of the Strauss violin concerto in 1901. His career as a violinist was cut short by World War I. Durosoir served in the Fifth Division, which took part in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. At the encouragement of General Mangin, Durosoir formed a string quartet with his fellow soldiers Henri Lemoine, André Caplet (viola), and Maurice Maréchal (cello).
Auguste-Joseph Franchomme was a French cellist and composer. In addition to his work in Paris, he collaborated with Spanish cellist Víctor Mirecki Larramat and Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais in founding what is considered the Spanish school of cellists, influencing future generations there. For his many contributions to music, he was decorated with the French Légion d'honneur in 1884.
Javier Torres Maldonado is a Mexican composer internationally recognized for, mostly, his orchestral, chamber, vocal and electro-acoustic works.
Franz Xaver Neruda was a Czech-Danish cellist and composer of Moravian origin.
Jules Delsart was a French cellist and teacher. He is best known for his arrangement for cello and piano of César Franck's Violin Sonata in A major. Musicologist Lynda MacGregor described Delsart as "one of the foremost French cellists of the period, with faultless technique, a precise bow and a sweet, though not large, tone." He was the owner of the 1689 'Archinto' Stradivari.
Rocco Filippini was a Swiss classical cellist.
Renaud Capuçon is a French classical violinist. Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Joseph Merk was a cellist from the Austrian Empire, often described as one of the most influential of the first half of the 19th century. He also wrote a number of compositions for the cello.
Louis Rosoor was a French cellist, performer and teacher.
Paul Hermann, also known as Pál Hermann, was a virtuoso cellist and composer.
The Batta-Piatigorsky Stradivarius is a cello made in Cremona, Italy in 1714 by Antonio Stradivari.
Jérôme Pernoo is a French contemporary cellist.
Raphaël Chrétien is a French classical cellist and music educator.
Ernest de Munck was a Belgian cellist and composer. Born in Brussels, de Munck learned the cello from his professional cellist father François de Munck as well as Adrien-François Servais. He later became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London.
Nicolas-Joseph Platel was a French cellist and composer. He is considered the founder of the Belgian school of cello playing. From 1831 until his death, he was the professor of cello at the Conservatoire de Musique in Brussels.
