BRIEF HISTORY OF THE VIOLONCELLO

The cello, in English cello, is a musical instrument belonging to the family of stringed instruments.
The cello had, over time, several sizes, and was slow to establish itself as a solo instrument.

The cello began its ascent in Italy in the seventeenth century. thanks to the Italian composers such as: G. B. Antoni musician of the Chapel of San Petronio in Bologna, another Bolognese musician was Domenico Gabrielli first famous cellist in the history of this instrument. He, when the Chapel of St. Petronius went bankrupt, emigrated to Germany where he perhaps knew the supreme J.S. Bach or more likely Bach knew the “Ricercari” for cello composed by him that perhaps it is assumed could have influenced the genesis of the Bach masterpiece, Six Suites for solo cello. In the baroque period for this instrument they also composed sonatas and concerts famous musicians such as: Geminiani, Porpora, Tartini, Cirri, Marcello, Vivaldi, Barriere, Boismortier until the famous composer of Lucca Luigi Boccherini who in concerts, sonatas and symphonies created led the cello to an unimaginable technical level before then. In the Viennese classicism of Haydn the cello stands out in its two wonderful concerts and plays a central role in the sonatas and in the superb Triple Concert for violin, cello and piano by L. v. Beethoven. Afterwards the cello now consolidated its solo role is widely expressed in the sublime pages of the concerts and sonatas of Saint-Saens, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Bruch, Fauré, Debussy, Dvorak, Elgar, Lalo, Reger, Kodaly, Britten , Villa-Lobos, Bloch, Schostakovich, Prokovief, Rachmaninov, Rodrigo, Piazzolla, Schnittke, Gubaidulina Hindemith, Kabalesky, Berio, Rota.

The earliest known cello makers were Italian, including: Andrea Amati (who died before 1580) from Cremona, Gasparo da Salo (1540-1609) from Brescia and pupil Giovanni Paolo Maggini (1581-1632). Their cellos, were larger than normal (exceeding 80 cm in length), over time the cello acquired a smaller size thanks to the valuable work and study carried out by the great Antonio Stradivari who was the most famous luthier of all times.