There was a time and a place when the cello was the Rodney Dangerfield of instruments — it got no respect.
That time was the 1700s, and the place was France, where the cello occupied a lowly place in the minds of many. In fact, one writer of the time went so far as to call the instrument “a miserable canker, wretch and poor Devil.”
Things looked pretty bleak indeed for the cello, until one great artist pulled it up from the abyss, altering the course of the instrument’s history forever.
You can see and hear the results of this transformation at 2:30 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 5, live on Classical 101’s Facebook page. Internationally acclaimed baroque cellist Juliana Soltis will perform some of the repertoire for her devil of an instrument in the Classical 101 studios.
Soltis will join Columbus musicians James Bates and Sean Ferguson for a one-time-only performance and interview about her instrument’s devil-to-diva transformation. And there might even be some competition — friendly or, maybe, infernal — between some of the instruments.
Watch this special live performance and interview on Classical 101’s Facebook page Thursday afternoon at 2:30!
