THE CHICAGO CELLO SOCIETY
A History
The Chicago Cello Society was formed in 1980 on the urging of Master Cellist and
teacher Janos Starker. Drawing from a cross-section of cellists in the Chicago
area, the Society's members have included members of the Chicago Symphony, Lyric
Opera Orchestra, Grant Park Symphony, leading free-lancers and teachers, as well
as many semi-professionals and amateurs.
Since that time, we have worked hard to fulfill our goals: to promote the art of
cello playing; to promote an interest in and appreciation of the cello as a solo
instrument; to develop a broader understanding of the art of the cello; to
provide performance opportunities for cellists; to provide a common meeting
ground for professional and amateur cellists; and to keep abreast of current
events in the cello world.
For a small organization, we have had quite a few events over the past 25 years.
In 1981, we sponsored our first Master Class for cellists, given by Channing
Robbins, professor of cello at the Juilliard School in New York. We also
sponsored our first Competition for Young Cellists. Winners received cash
prizes, and our first prize winner received a cello bow, presented by Bein and
Fushi, Inc., and an appearance on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert
Series--broadcast live on WFMT radio. In the summer of 1981, we had our first
presentation of "Cellists from the Past" by cellist Gary Stucka from his
world-famous collection of old cello recordings. Present at this interesting and
informative gathering was an authentic "cellist from the past," 80-year-old
Teddy Ratzer, who had retired from the Chicago Symphony cello section in 1943,
and who had personally known and worked with a number of the cellists whose
recordings we heard that evening.
By the following season, 1981-1982, we were getting pretty well known and
started receiving information from other organizations and from a few authors.
David Blum, author of Casals and the Art of Interpretation, asked for our
mailing list of cellists to send information about his book on the life of the
great cellist Pablo Casals to our members. The Emanuel Feuermann Society, Inc.,
wrote and offered to do a presentation about Mr. Feuermann, possibly the
greatest cellist of all time, for our members. In December 1981, we had our
first concert of Music for Cello Ensemble. Thirteen cellists participated in
this first ever presentation in the Chicago area dedicated totally to the
performance of music for cello ensembles. Over one hundred people attended this
concert. In March 1982, we sponsored our second Master Class, given by Zara
Nelsova. Six weeks later, we sponsored our third Master Class, given by Raya
Garbousova, world-renowned cellist and teacher. In May, we sponsored our second
competition for young cellists. We had such success with our first competition
the year before that we opened it up to cellists throughout the country. Our
winner that year was from the Juilliard School.
The following season, 1982-1983, we started out with the Emanuel Feuermann
Memorial Presentation on November 14. Being able to see and hear this great
artist was a rare treat and a tremendous educational experience for all the many
cellists who attended. An interesting aside was offered by Sam Sciacchitano, an
older cellist and member of the Chicago Symphony cello section, who had actually
studied with Mr. Feuermann. He was able to add some interesting details about
the great master, who had suffered an untimely death in 1942 at the age of 40.
In March 1983, we had our second concert of Music for Cello Ensemble. The
program included the local premiere of the Kousnetzoff Suite in Five Parts
for four cellos, a major work for cello ensemble written by a 19th century
professor of cello for himself and 3 of his students.
The 1983-1984 season was a very important one for the Chicago Cello Society,
starting with becoming a charter member of the American Cello Council. This
organization of cello clubs was established to continue the presentation of the
American Cello Congresses that had begun two years earlier in Washington, D.C.
In March 1984, we began publication of The Cello Scroll, the newsletter
of the Chicago Cello Society. Until this newsletter, we had been sending out
simple one-page letters announcing our events. This publication gave us a great
deal more organizational power and scope. Beginning with this first issue, our
public relations director Charlotte Lehnhoff began a series of articles about
the cello, its music, history and techniques. These articles are now indexed in
the Library of Congress. And our Coming Events page in the first issue consisted
of 19 events! In March, we presented our second Master Class with Zara Nelsova,
a class she asked to do because she had enjoyed the first one so much. We also
helped in the presentation of a Master Class with Leonard Rose, another great
cello soloist. In April, we presented our third concert of Music for Cello
Ensemble. In June, we had our third Competition for young cellists.
In June 1984, we participated in the Second American Cello Congress, held at
Arizona State University. Chicago Cello Society President David Sanders led a
panel discussion on the Career of an Orchestra Cellist. Many of the auditors at
the Congress said it was one of the definite highlights of the week. In July,
Gary Stucka presented another evening of "Cellists from the Past."
The 1984-1985 season was another busy one for the Society. We helped with the
planning for the 1986 American Cello Congress in Bloomington, IN, and hosted by Janos Starker. (Earlier that year, Mr. Starker played three concertos with the
Lake Forest Symphony, an unbelievable feat.) The Cello Scroll began its
second year, and we made plans for our first Fall Cello Festival. But it was a
year of heartache as well. The newsletter reported on the death of Leonard Rose
and the retirement of our Honorary President Frank Miller from his position of
25 years as principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony. In February, we presented
a Master Class with Carter Brey, young solo cellist who had just made his solo
debut with the Chicago Symphony and now principal cello with the New York
Philharmonic. In March, we presented our fourth concert of Music for cello
Ensemble, presenting the first local performance of the Villa-Lobos Bachianas
Brasilieras No. 1, for eight cellos. We also presented Mary Springfels,
world-renowned baroque cello and viola da gamba specialist in a
lecture-demonstration. Charlotte Lehnhoff began her engaging and entertaining
series on the History of the Thumb Position in The Cello Scroll. In May,
we presented luthier Henning Christiansen in a demonstration on cello making and
repairs.
In September, 1985, we began the 1985-1986 season with what would probably be
considered the highlight of our brief existence: our Fall Cello Festival.
Co-sponsored by the Chicago Cello Society and Northwestern University, we
presented a 3 1/2 day intensive festival of cellos and cellists. In this short
space of time, we presented two seminars (Auditions and Orchestra Performance,
and Teaching Techniques); three recitals (Marc Johnson, Ko Iwasaki, and Laurien
Laufman); four master classes (Raya Garbousova, Janos Starker and two by Alan
Harris); a concert of Cello Ensemble music; a concert by our past Competition
winners; a "Cellists from the Past" presentation; and a Cello Ensemble "Jam
Session." We were also the host for the 1985 meeting of the American Cello
Council Board of Directors. Quite a full weekend!
The season continued in December with a concert of the six Bach Cello Suites,
performed by six different cellists in the perfect setting of St. Luke's Church
in Evanston in honor of Johann Sebastian Bach's 300th birthday. Unfortunately,
we also had to report on the deaths of Frank Miller, Pierre Fournier, Mischa
Schneider, Jascha Bernstein and Fortunato Arico. We continued the year with our
fourth Competition for Young Cellists. The first prize included an appearance as
a finalist in the Jill Sackler Cello Competition sponsored by the Third American
Cello Congress, $500 cash, a cello bow donated by Bein and Fushi and a concert
on the Dame Myra Hess Series. Our first prize winner, Eric Kim, went on to win
co-first prize at the Sackler Competition. The season concluded with the Third
American Cello Congress in Bloomington. It was a wonderful gathering of over 500
cellists.
1986-1987 saw the appointment of John Sharp as Principal Cellist of the Chicago
Symphony and his appointment to the Board of Directors of the Cello Society.
December 15, 1987, had a sequel to the highly successful all Bach Suite concert
of the year before: a performance of all five Beethoven Sonatas. The performers
included four members of the Chicago Symphony--including the new principal--and
the cellist of the Vermeer Quartet; one pianist, Andrea Swan, took on the
monumental task of all five performances. This concert seemed even more
successful than the one the year before. Meanwhile, plans were beginning to
formulate for the first World Cello Congress, planned for June, 1988,
Washington, D.C. April featured another "Cellists from the Past" evening, hosted
by cellist Gary Stucka, who had recently left the Cleveland Orchestra to join
the Chicago Symphony. A new feature, inspired by the "Cellists from the Past"
idea, was added to The Cello Scroll: "Notes from the Past," a column
devoted to news items about cellists taken from string magazines and books from
the last 40 years. In August, the Cello Society, in cooperation with the Ravinia
Festival, was able to offer free of charge tickets to hear the young cellist,
Andres Diaz, winner of the 1986 Naumburg Competition, in his debut with the
Chicago Symphony.
As in previous years, the 1987-1988 season had some happy moments and some sad
ones. The Cello Scroll began with a fascinating article by Emanuel
Feuermann, written one year before his untimely death, and a penetrating article
by Charlotte Lehnhoff about the Beethoven A Major Sonata. We presented
our fifth concert of Music for Cello ensemble in December, and also presented a
clinic on the use of the cello ensemble in the school music program at the
Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, held in Chicago. Presented for the first time
on these two ensemble concerts was the High School Cello Choir from the Music
Center of the North Shore. Unfortunately, our second issue of the year--our
biggest ever--included the sad story of the death of Jacqueline du Pre, the
great cellist who was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis at the height of her
career in 1972. The newsletter also took on a new look, thanks to the new
Macintosh computer acquired through an anonymous grant. The graphics were
wonderful! The hope was also that we would be able to write our own arrangements
for cello ensembles using this wonderful machine.
In May, we presented our third concert of cello sonatas featuring different
local cellists. This one was devoted to the romantic sonata repertoire for the
cello. Once again our pianist, Andrea Swan, tackled all four difficult piano
parts. Our fifth Competition for young cellists took place in June 1988. The
first winner, Wendy Warner, still in high school, appeared at the first Master
Class given by Zara Nelsova for the Chicago Cello Society back in 1982 when she
was only 11 years old! The season ended with the first World Cello Congress in
Washington, D.C., held in June 1988.
The 1988-1989 season began early when in July we sponsored a
lecture-demonstration by Baroque cello specialist Anner Bylsma. Bein and Fushi,
donor of the bow for our first prize in our competition, co-sponsored and hosted
this wonderful event. In August, we had another presentation of "Cellists from
the Past" presented by Gary Stucka, this time including some fascinating video
presentations.
In November, 1988, we presented our third Master Class with Zara Nelsova, this
time co-sponsored with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The Cello Scroll,
in its sixth year, continued Charlotte Lehnhoff's investigation of the Beethoven
A Major Sonata and began reprinting a series of articles from 1899 from
The Strad magazine on the literature of the cello.
In May 1989, the Chicago Symphony cello section, most of whom were members of
the Chicago Cello Society, gave the first Chicago Symphony performance of the
Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 (which the Cello Society had
given the local premiere several years earlier). We were also saddened by the
death of our member, Kathleen Francheschi, who died at the age of 41. She left a
grant for the Chicago Cello Society in her will, and we will be using it to help
continue our Scholarship Competition.
During the 1989-1990 season, The Cello Scroll, widely acclaimed as one of
the foremost cello newsletters in the country, continued its investigation of
the literature of the cello from 1899 and the Beethoven A Major Sonata.
In March 1990, we sponsored Cello Day, featuring panel discussions on the
Careers of the Cellist and the Orchestral Repertoire, and (probably for the
first time ever anywhere) a performance of the complete 40 Popper Etudes for
Cello (known as the High School of Cello Playing and widely considered
the most important cello etudes) by 20 Chicago Cello Society cellists. It was
truly an event to remember.
The year ended with our fifth Competition for Young Cellists in June 1990, and
the Fourth American Cello Congress, in Tempe. The Chicago Cello Society
delighted the cellists in attendance with Gary Stucka's "Cellists from the
Past."
The 1990s had quite a few interesting events. We began with a fascinating look
at the difference between old and modern cellos. Held at the law offices of
Larry Block, two blindfolded cellists each played 11 different instruments while
an audience behind a screen voted on their favorites. In February 1991, we had
another concert of music for cello ensemble, this time with a great deal of
student participation. In May we had another presentation by Gary Stucka of
"Cellists from the Past."
We sponsored a Master Class by Lazlo Varga in November 1991 and one by Janos
Starker in May 1992. There was an in-house concert at the home of Larry and Abby
Block in December 1991. We had our 2nd Fall Cello Festival in September 1993,
which included another Competition for Young Cellists. We held another Bach Day
in March 1995 (this time with dancing)! In May of that year, we sponsored an
exhibition of the fabulous bow collection of Shirley Miller, combined with a
bow-making demonstration by Doug Raguse. In May, 1996, we had a demonstration on
caring for your cello by Ken Stein.
Our long range goals include setting up a scholarship to pay for a year's worth
of lessons for two to three young local cellists. We would also like to see the
airlines allow cellists to carry their instruments on the plane, when there are
extra seats available, at no charge. We will be continuing our Master Classes,
concert performances and competitions as well.
Highlights of the Chicago Cello Society
Concerts:
Music for Cello Ensemble, December 13, 1981
Music for Cello Ensemble, March 7, 1983
Music for Cello Ensemble, April 9, 1984
Music for Cello Ensemble, March 4, 1985 (cancelled due to power failure at
Skokie Library!)
Six Bach Cello Suites, December 15, 1985
Five Beethoven Sonatas, December 15, 1986
Music for Cello Ensemble, December 14, 1987
Romantic Cello Sonatas, May 8, 1988
Popper High School of Cello Playing, March 4, 1990
Music for Cello Ensemble, February 18, 1991
In-House Concert (at home of Larry and Abby Block), December 2, 1991
Master Classes:
Channing Robbins, May 17, 1981
Zara Nelsova, March 28, 1982
Raya Garbousova, May 2, 1982
Zara Nelsova, March 17, 1984
Leonard Rose, March 24, 1984 (co-sponsored by Bein and Fushi/Classical Youth
Symphony)
Carter Brey, February 17, 1985
Zara Nelsova, November 28, 1988 (co-sponsored by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago)
Lazlo Varga, November 10, 1991 (co-sponsored by Roosevelt University)
Janos Starker, May 14, 1992
Lecture/Demonstrations and Workshops:
Emanuel Feuermann Society, Inc., November 14th, 1982
Mary Springfels, lecture on the viola da gamba, March 17, 1985
Henning Christiansen, lecture on cello repairs, May, 1985
The Cello Ensemble in school music programs, December 16, 1987 (Presentation
given at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic)
Anner Bylsma, July, 1988 (co-sponsored by Bein and Fushi)
Cello Day, March 4, 1990
Demonstration of Old and Modern Cellos, December 3, 1990
Bach Day, an Interdisciplinary Program of Music and Dance, March 19, 1995
Shirley Miller Bow Collection, May 7, 1995/Douglas Raguse bow-making
demonstration, May 7, 1995
Ken Stein, How to Care For Your Cello, May 19, 1996
Fall Cello Festivals:
September, 1985
September, 1993
Gary Stucka's Cellists From The Past:
July 13, 1981
July 17, 1984
April 6, 1987
August 1, 1988
May 13, 1991
Competitions For Young Cellists:
May 23, 1981
May 29, 1982
June 3, 1984
April 27, 1986
June 5, 1988
June 3, 1990
September 10, 1993