Paul Tortelier
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Paul Tortelier was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the
Tortelier in 1948
Tortelier by the Studio Harcourt, 1948
Plaque in the 17th arrondissement of Paris
Cello Concerto (Elgar)
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Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, when his music had already become out of fas
Paul Tortelier
…While a student he earned an income in a trio playing accompaniments to silent films. He won the conservatoire's first prize when he was 16, playing the Elgar Cello Concerto, and then he studied harmony and composition under Jean Gallon. He made his professional début in 1931 at the age of 17, as soloist in Lalo's Cello…
Elgar and Beatrice Harrison making the first (abridged) recording of the concerto (1920). Note the acoustic recording horns. Harrison would go on to make the first complete recording in 1928.
Fragment of the manuscript of the opening of the second movement of the concerto
Autograph manuscript of the beginning of the third movement of the concerto