International Cello Day

International Cello Day brings together musicians and their listeners to honor the amazing stringed instrument that makes you feel vivid emotions! Sadness, joy, melancholy, happiness – not a complete list of feelings that are available when listening. Music cannot be described in words – it must be listened to with the heart!

History

The cello has 4 strings of different thicknesses and belongs to the group of bow strings. You can play the instrument with a bow and fingers – the latter type is called “pizzicato”. The first mention of the subject dates back to 1535-1536 – the cello is depicted on a fresco by the Italian sculptor and artist Gaudenzio Ferrari. The name of the instrument appears for the first time in a collection of sonnets by Giulio Arresti from 1665.

International Cello Day also remembers the man who created an entire era with his performance work! This is Pablo Casals – the brightest virtuoso of the 20th century. His father was an organist in the local church, so the first musical lessons were received at an early age. Pablo admitted that his father instilled a love for music and became an example. He got his son into the church choir, taught him to play the violin and piano.

One day the little Casals were playing in the church. After the performance, he went outside and met a man who said to the guy: “How I love your father’s game!”. Pablo smiled and admitted that he played on his own, and his parent got a little sick. The fan was very surprised.

Interesting facts

It’s amazing that:

• according to some reports, an instrument created by Antonio Stradivari in the 7th century was sold for 20 million dollars to a Japanese musician;
• the bow is made of bamboo, ebony and horsehair;
• when tuning the instrument, they are guided by the sound of fifths;
• In 2014, South African Carel Henn set a record: he played non-stop for 26 hours.

How to celebrate

Listen to beautiful music, expand your knowledge, meet performers, composers, interesting works. Attend classes and learn how to play the instrument at least at the amateur level. Invite the children to do art, tell us more about the instrument.

When is International Cello Day celebrated in 2022?

International Cello Day is observed on December 29 each year.

Observations