Douglas Cummings (1946 – May 14, 2014) was a British

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a 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 ...

. His father was the

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

-born

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

. Cummings studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

(RAM), and was also a student of

Gregor Piatigorsky Gregor Piatigorsky (, ''Grigoriy Pavlovich Pyatigorskiy''; August 6, 1976) was a Russian Empire-born American cellist. Biography Early life Gregor Piatigorsky was born in Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. As a child, ...

. He became principal cellist of the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(LSO) in 1969 and held the post for 24 years, until 1993. He also served as a member of the LSO board of directors. After his departure from the LSO, Cummings taught at the RAM, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Oundle School. He was a founder member of the London Virtuosi Chamber Ensemble. He was also a founder member of the Cummings String Quartet together with his sister Diana Cummings. His recordings include the 2004 album ''The British Cello Phenomenon''.Millington, Barry (April 20, 2004). "Various artists: The British Cello Phenomenon", ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', p. 46. He also performed and recorded with the

Lindsay String Quartet The Lindsay String Quartet (or The Lindsays) was a British string quartet from 1965 to 2005. History The quartet first performed at the Royal Academy of Music in 1965 to compete for a prize and set out to make the string quartets of Bartók and ...

References

External links

* 1946 births 2014 deaths British classical cellists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama London Symphony Orchestra players 20th-century classical musicians Teachers of Oundle School {{cellist-stub