William Pleeth
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - William Pleeth
OR:
William Pleeth on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known 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 ...
and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of
Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...
.


Biography


Early years

William Pleeth was born in London. His parents were Jewish immigrants from
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland. Many generations of his family had been professional musicians. He started to learn the cello at six and his talent was quickly noticed. At nine he became a pupil of Herbert Walenn at the London Cello School. At thirteen Pleeth won a two-year scholarship to study with
Julius Klengel Julius Klengel (24 September 1859 – 27 October 1933) was a German cellist who is most famous for his études and solo pieces written for the instrument. He was the brother of Paul Klengel. A member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig at f ...
at the Conservatory in Leipzig. He was the youngest person ever to receive this scholarship at the time. Pleeth much appreciated Klengel. He said:
He was a wonderful teacher because he allowed you to be yourself. He hated it if someone copied him. He wanted us to develop our own musicality – and we did, and we're all different after all.
Emanuel Feuermann Emanuel Feuermann (November 22, 1902 – May 25, 1942) was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century. Life Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to ...
and
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, ...
were both Klengel pupils and they were totally different in their style of playing. Klengel himself was a very simple, unsophisticated man whose integrity was unquestionable. He was always honest and I loved him for it.
When he was fifteen years old, he had learned all the Cello Suites of
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
, all ''Caprices'' by Piatti and 32
cello concertos 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 ...
. At fifteen he played a piece for four cellos by Klengel with Emanuel Feuermann,
Fritz Schertel Friedrich Schertel (13 February 1890 – 5 April 1945) was a German cello virtuoso. Life Born in Schweinfurt, Schertel was the youngest son of the bank accountant and later State bank director Sigmund Schertel and his wife Marie Schertel, ''né ...
and Julius Klengel in Leipzig. In the same year, 1931, he gave his first public performance of Dvořák's Cello Concerto at the Conservatory in Leipzig. The same year he also made his debut as soloist with the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
with
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
's Cello Concerto in D major.


Early career

In 1933 he played in many
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
broadcasts and made his debut at the Aeolian Hall in London with the Dvořák Concerto as a soloist of the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...
conducted by
Leslie Heward Leslie Hays Heward (8 December 1897 – 3 May 1943) was an English conductor and composer. Between 1930 and 1942 he was the Music Director of the City of Birmingham Orchestra. Heward was born in Liversedge, Yorkshire, the son of a railway p ...
. From this moment his career took off. In 1940, Pleeth performed the
Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
Cello Concerto with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
conducted by
Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, wi ...
. From 1936 to 1941 he was a member of the Blech String Quartet.


War and marriage

During the Second World War, Pleeth served five years in the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. In 1942, he married the pianist Alice Margaret Good (1906–2000), previously the wife of
Herbert Murrill Herbert Henry John Murrill (11 May 1909 – 25 July 1952) was an English musician, composer, and organist. Education and early career Herbert Henry John (later just Herbert) Murrill was born in London, at 19, Fircroft Road in Upper Tooting, th ...
. They performed together for more than forty years and made numerous recordings together. They had a son and a daughter. After the war Pleeth's solo career and his recitals with Good reached international status. During the war Pleeth served in the same regiment with the composer
Edmund Rubbra Edmund Rubbra (; 23 May 190114 February 1986) was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak o ...
, with whom he became lifelong friends. Rubbra wrote his Sonata for Cello and Piano for Pleeth and Good. He also wrote his "Soliloqui" for cello and orchestra for Pleeth. Among the other composers who wrote pieces for Pleeth were
Benjamin Frankel Benjamin Frankel (31 January 190612 February 1973) was a British composer. His best known pieces include a cycle of five string quartets, eight symphonies, and concertos for violin and viola. He was also notable for writing over 100 film scores ...
,
Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about m ...
,
Franz Reizenstein Franz Theodor Reizenstein (7 June 191115 October 1968) was a German-born British composer and concert pianist. He left Germany for sanctuary in Britain in 1934 and went on to have his teaching and performing career there. As a composer, he succ ...
,
Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (; 4 May 190524 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, from the Hungarian tradition of Bartó ...
and
Bernard Stevens Bernard (George) Stevens (2 March 1916 – 6 January 1983) was a British composer. Life Born in London, Stevens studied English and Music at St John's College, Cambridge with E. J. Dent and Cyril Rootham, then at the Royal College of Music ...
.


Chamber music

In 1952 Pleeth formed the original Allegri String Quartet with violinists Eli Goren and James Barton and violist Patrick Ireland. For him, chamber music was the most satisfying form of music-making. He said:
Chamber music has always been a passion with me, and I return to it more and more. Not only is the concert itself an exciting experience but it is the satisfaction of working out a piece of music with three other human beings for whom you have affection. In many ways, a solo career is, for me, unsatisfying. I don't care for the solitary travelling, and like even less the isolation of being confronted by a large orchestra and an 'eminent' conductor.
He often performed
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's
String Quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet" ...
and the sextets of
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
with the
Amadeus Quartet The Amadeus Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, having retained its founding members throughout its history. Noted for its smooth, sophisticated style, its seamless ensemble playing, and its sensitive interpretat ...
and other well-known quartets.


Teacher

Pleeth was a professor of cello at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
in London from 1948 to 1978. From 1977 he was a visiting professor at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
. He was much loved by his students, the most famous of them being
Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...
, who named him her "cello daddy". She described him as "an extraordinary teacher who knew exactly how to guide someone or to correct an error with kindness and understanding." Pleeth taught du Pré for seven years, first privately, later at the Guildhall School. Some of his hundreds of other students are Robert Cohen,
Frans Helmerson Frans Helmerson (born 1945) is a Swedish cellist, pedagogue, and conductor. Biography Helmerson was born in 1945 and by the age of 8 began playing cello. Later on, he studied with Guido Vecchi in Götheborg, Giuseppe Selmi in Rome, and with Willia ...
, Felix Schmidt, Stephen Lansberry, Natasha Brofsky,
Colin Carr Colin Carr (born 25 October 1957) is a British cello soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher. Biography Born in Liverpool, Carr is professor of cello at the Royal Academy of Music. He taught at the New England Conservatory in Bo ...
,
Anssi Karttunen Anssi Karttunen (born 1960) is a Finnish cellist. Karttunen's repertoire ranges from the early baroque to living composers and improvisation. He has performed with many orchestras in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including the Philharmonia, BBC ...
,
Andrew Shulman Andrew Shulman (born 1960 in London, England) is an English virtuoso cellist, conductor and composer. He is currently the principal cellist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and maintains his cello studio at the University of Southern Californ ...
,
Martin Rummel Martin Rummel (born 2 May 1974) is an Austrian cellist. Biography The son of Peter Rummel, professor of law, grew up in Linz, where he went to primary school and graduated from Akademisches Gymnasium, where he received a Classical education ...
, Paul Watkins, Sophie Rolland and his own son
Anthony Pleeth Anthony Pleeth, born in 1948 in London, is an English cellist, specialising in the Authentic performance, historically informed performance of music of the 18th and 19th centuries on period instruments. Biography and career He studied cello wit ...
. He stopped performing in the early 1980s, but continued teaching until his death. His
masterclass Yanka Industries, Inc., doing business as MasterClass, is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. The concept for MasterClass was conceiv ...
es were so appreciated that he had hundreds of students from all the continents.


Last years

In 1989, Pleeth was appointed an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for his outstanding achievements.''The Independent''
/ref> On 12 January 1996, his 80th birthday, a celebration concert was given for him by friends and students in the
Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...
. The Brindisi String Quartet,
Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and directe ...
and Anthony Pleeth performed
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
,
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
and
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
. All revenues were donated to the Jacqueline du Pré Multiple Sclerosis Research Fund. William Pleeth lived with Margaret Good in
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
, North London. He died on 6 April 1999, aged 83, having fought
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
for four years. He was survived by his wife, his son and daughter and three grandchildren. On 12 January 2000 the ''William Pleeth Memorial Concert'' was held at the St John's Church in London. His son Anthony, granddaughter Tatty Theo (both cellists) and his granddaughter Lucy Theo (violinist) performed, together with two of his pupils, Robert Cohen and Colin Carr.


Media

* Pleeth captured some of his thoughts on cello playing in the book ''Cello'', part of the ''
Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...
Music Guides''. It is based on conversations that Pleeth had with Nona Pyron. Menuhin wrote the introduction and Jacqueline du Pré the preface. The book was published in 1982. * Pleeth was 80 when the eight DVDs ''A Life in Music'' were recorded in the Britten-Pears School in Snape Maltings in Suffolk. Selma Gokcen, who had studied with Pleeth, produced the recordings. On each DVD Pleeth gives lessons to young cellists. These recordings show his experience of a lifetime, attention to smallest detail and how music came alive in his guidance. * Pleeth can be seen and heard on the DVDs that
Christopher Nupen Christopher Nupen (30 September 1934 – 19 February 2023) was a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians. Early life and education Nupen was born in South Africa on 30 Sep ...
made about Jacqueline du Pré: ** ''Remembering Jacqueline du Pré'', 1994 ** ''Jacqueline du Pré: in Portrait'', 2004 ** ''Jacqueline du Pré: A Celebration'', 2008 * In the film ''
Hilary and Jackie ''Hilary and Jackie'' is a 1998 British biographical film directed by Anand Tucker, starring Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths as the British classical musician sisters Jacqueline du Pré (cello) and Hilary du Pré (flute). The film covers Jacqu ...
'' by
Anand Tucker Anand Tucker (born 24 June 1963) is a film director and producer based in London. He began his career directing factual television programming and adverts. He co-owns the production company Seven Stories. Personal life Tucker was born in Thailan ...
, 1998, based on the life of Jacqueline du Pré from the perspective of her brother and sister, the character of William Pleeth is played by Bill Paterson.


Sources

* ''William Pleeth: A life in music. Eight cello masterclasses'' (DVD). * William Pleeth (red. Nona Pyron), ''Cello''. Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides, Macdonald, London, 1982.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleeth, William 1916 births 1999 deaths British classical cellists Jewish British musicians British music educators British classical musicians Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century British musicians British people of Polish descent 20th-century cellists