21st Century Cellists is a volume of interviews with and profiles of eleven cellists, written by Richard Dyer, Edith Eisler, John Lehmann-Haupt, Andrew Palmer, Timothy Pfaff and Barbara Sealock. ©2001 by String Letter Publishing. This book is an excellent and intriguing source of information about cellists who at this very moment are alive and practicing their art. The selection is interesting because of the eclectic nature of these cellists. Some are younger than others. Cellists of various nations are included. Some are quite famous (for example, Yo-Yo Ma); but others are relatively unknown and obscure. The eleven cellists are: Kenneth Slowik, Bion Tsang, Pieter Wispelwey, Kermit Moore, Hai-Ye Ni, Carlos Priety, Jian Wang, Ralph Kirshbaum, Laurence Lesser, David Finckel, and Yo-Yo Ma.
The book is a glossy-cover paperback, six inches wide and nine inches tall. There are 133 pages and the print is relatively small. There is a lot of red on the front cover, but other than that, the entire book is black and white, including the many interesting photographs accompanying the text. The writing style is conversational and personal, and engaging. Each article contains a discography, and a special section tracing the particular cello used by each cellist, and what brand of strings each cellist prefers. For example, Hai-Ye Ni plays a Gofriller on loan from the San Francisco Conservatory, and she prefers a Jargar medium A, a Jargar Forte D, a Spirocore G and a Spirocore Tungsten C. Carlos Prieto plays the "Piatti" Strad, made in 1720; and he likes a Jargar A, Helicore D, and Thomastik G and C. Jian Wang plays an Amati from 1622.
This book is well-written and up-to-date. Anyone who is interested in our present generation of cellists will enjoy the book very much. The only fault I find with the book is that it is too short. I wish it covered 50 cellists of our generation, rather than only eleven. Highly recommended! The price is $14.95 US.
21st Century Cellists is published by String Letter Publishing, publishers of the famous Strings Magazine. 21st Century Cellists is published by David A. Lusterman. The book is available through Amazon.com.
Reviewed by "drcello," May 8, 2001.