Historically, Dvořák's B-minor Cello Concerto, arguably, has only been rivaled by Haydn's D-major Concerto with its endurance in cello history. Although, the work has gained more competitors later in the 20th Century in concertos by Schumann, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and others…

Herman Whitfield III (October 29, 1982 — April 25, 2022)

Herman and I entered the Cleveland Institute of Music for our graduate studies at the same time. We became friends almost immediately because we shared a love for composition as…

(This biography was excerpted from Lev Ginsburg's Volume 3 of "The Art of the Violoncello" pp. 310-314, translated by Yuriy Leonovich).

Born in 1872 to a poor Kharkiv family [in Dubno], Mikhail Evseevich Bukinik received his initial education at…

I would like to offer a list of Ukrainian music and Ukraine inspired music that will enrich your repertoire. In some cases, you might already have these works in your repertoire. This list is by no means exhaustive. If you…

REVIEW: Cello Bow Force - Bow Training Aid from Shar Violin Shop (originally posted on Instagram on June 13, 2019)

I bought this device specifically to review. I have used it for a month now. With all the business I…

Introducing Lalo's Cello Sonata Urtext edition. 

Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) was a French composer who is best known for his Symphonie Espagnole for violin and orchestra as well as his Cello Concerto. However, he also composed beautiful chamber works such…

I was recently asked to review several editions on Jewish themes. One of the works on the list was Joachim ​Stutschewsky's Kaddish. Stutschewsky was a Ukrainian-Jewish cellist, composer, arranger, and a great promoter of Jewish music in the 20th century…

Born in Konigsberg of Polish parents, [Maurice] Eisenberg (1900-1972) was brought to the United States by his family when he was two years old. After early training in Baltimore, he played in the Philadelphia Orchestra before becoming principal cellist of…

Every other school year I teach a 400-level class called "String Literature Survey" at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. This class is designed for string majors to learn about sonatas from 1700 to 2000, starting with Corelli's violin sonatas…

My sources are Stephen De'ak's David Popper and Clytus Gottwald's Max Seifriz: Beiträge zu Lebenslauf und Werk. Other sources are linked. Additional information is provided in brackets.

29 March 1860 (Royal Estates Theatre in Prague, Prague Conservatory Orchestra under Kittl)

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We are celebrating our new release of Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme Urtext Edition.
Original cello/piano version 
Original orchestra score
Original orchestra parts
Standard cello/piano version

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93) remains, arguably, the most famous Russian composer from the …

(Presented in alphabetical order)

Ars Antiqva (Complete Instrumental Works by Vivaldi edited by Olivier Fourés) 

If you are looking to play some of the more obscure works by Vivaldi, you might start with the Ricordi complete edition (which is highly…

Friedrich von Mulert (AKA Friedrich Vilgelmovich and Fedor Vasilievich Mulert (19 June 1859, Mitau, now Jelgava, Latvia - 1924, Kyiv, Ukraine) - cellist and teacher. In 1884 he graduated with a medical degree from the Yuryevsky University (now University of…

Opera fantasias were a way of life for musicians of the Romantic era. They grew out of the potpourri and variation genres of the late 1700s. Opera fantasias could be as simple as a medley of short themes, as with…

Say the word "caprice," and our minds immediately go to Paganini and Piatti. However, other composers also wrote caprices as studies, among them François Servais (1807-66). Servais was a Belgian cello virtuoso and composer. As was typical of the Romanic…

Welcome to my comprehensive list of editions for the standard cello repertoire. I hope that you find this list helpful when choosing the right piece for yourself or your student. Each work includes a grade level 1 through 6 (based…

Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante is undoubtedly one of the most important concertos in the cello repertoire from the last 70 years. However, the currently available edition is far from perfect. Between the solo part and orchestral score, there are dozens of…

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) wrote five major works for the cello: a suite with piano (rev. orchestra), two sonatas, and two concertos. Cello Concerto No. 2, Cello Sonata No. 2, and the revision of the early Suite, Op. 16, coming from…

Today, Victor Herbert is best remembered for his operettas, but he was an accomplished cellist, a student of the infamous Cossmann, and a composer of some lovely cello works. As much as it is difficult to believe, Herbert's Cello Concerto…

Often, when looking for the first "real" concerto to give to our students, we go to the list that includes Haydn C, Saint-Saëns 1, Lalo, and Boccherini-Grützmacher. I would like to present to you Carl Maria von Weber's Grand Potpourri…

Undoubtedly, Barber's concerto is one of the greatest of the 20th century. In my Critical Notes Series, I typically look at misprints and textual variants. But the solo part of Barber's concerto was proofread with a great amount of accuracy…

Undoubtedly, Joseph Haydn's Divertimento is a staple of the cello repertoire. Besides the 2 cello concertos, Haydn didn't leave us with any sonatas, so a fancy arrangement for cello and piano is always welcome. The story of Piatigorsky's arrangement is…

Suite Op.16 was originally composed in 1862 for cello and piano by the young Saint-Saëns, full of life and passion. In 1919, he orchestrated 3 of the movements from the 1862 Suite and replaced the third (Scherzo) and fifth (Finale)…

This December, I would like to offer some of my experience in research and edition preparation. Our first session concentrated on how I go about making a cello part from start to finish. You can re-watch the session below. Here…