A general introduction to my cello blog

I’ve been writing on facebook about the cello, how to play it ie discussing technique I’ve learnt when studying the cello as well as musical interpretation and cello repertoire. So I thought I’d bring my thoughts together in a blog. My early blogs here will be those I wrote in response to the posts of the world famous cellist, Steven Isserlis. I’ll give a link so you can read what he wrote because here I shall only include my responses which I shall slightly adapt for this blog for readability. Later I shall write not only about my facebook posts but go on to discuss how I go about practising the cello, the repertoire I play, concerts I go to and more.   

I’m particularly interested in the cello because I’m a cellist and therefore this is the focus of this blog.  I am also a singer but my training is in musical theatre and pop rather than classical repertoire /opera so my thoughts on singing may wander in from time to time. I started playing the cello at 5yrs old, having nagged my parents and granny about playing the cello since 1 ½ years old after I went to my 1st concert and heard/saw a cello in a piano trio. I started learning the cello in group classes for children at a college of music then studied privately with 3 other teachers all of whom were top professional cellists who were taught by amazing, well-known cellists themselves.

Before I started playing the cello, I began the violin and piano at 3 and 4 respectively. So I may stray into discussing the violin and piano even though I’m not at my finest when I attempt to play these but I love the sound of the violin and it does have a vast repertoire! The piano, to my mind, conveys less emotion, unless you are Daniel Barenboim, who manages to produce sensational colouring, partly by understanding how to make the keys hit the hammers inside the piano in a way which avoids some un-aesthetic pitfalls of the sounds a piano can make as well as how to sustain the sound and create the illusion of crescendo and diminuendo. I haven’t managed to master this on the piano yet. I’m hoping I will succeed one day but I’ll never reach his heights.

There are many incredible professional musicians out there. (There are also amazing non-professional musicians out there as well.) I won’t be able to mention them all so if I don’t mention your favourite it’s not because I think they are lesser than it’s just I can’t cover everyone or everything. However, you are welcome to mention them in comments below or any other music, especially cello-related, comments/questions you may wish to share/ask below (as long as they are positive and courteous).