William Pleeth
Encyclopedia
William Pleeth OBE was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré
.
. His parents were Jewish
immigrants from Warsaw
, 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
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 and Gregor Piatigorsky 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
, all Caprices by Piatti
and 32 cello concertos
. At fifteen he played a piece for four cellos by Klengel with Emanuel Feuermann
, Fritz Schertel 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
with Haydn
's Cello Concerto in D major.
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
conducted by Leslie Heward
. From this moment career took off.
In 1940 performed the Schumann
Cello Concerto
with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Sir Adrian Boult
. From 1936 to 1941 he was a member of the Blech String Quartet.
Pleeth served five years in the British Army
. In 1942 he married the pianist Margaret Good. 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 Margaret Good reached international status.
During the war Pleeth served in the same regiment with the composer Edmund Rubbra
, with whom he became lifelong friends. Edmund 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 Franz Stein Travel, Gordon Jacob
, Mátyás Seiber
and Benjamin Frankel
.
He often performed Schubert
's String Quintet
and the Sextets of Johannes Brahms
with the Amadeus Quartet
and other well known quartets.
in London from 1948 to 1978. From 1977 he was a visiting professor at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music
. He was much loved by his students, the most famous of them being Jacqueline du Pré
, 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 Jacqueline du Pré for seven years, first privately, later at the Guildhall School. Some of his hundreds of other students are Frans Helmerson, Natasha Brofsky, Colin Carr
, Robert Cohen
, Tim Hugh, Anssi Karttunen
, Paul Watkins
and his own son Anthony Pleeth
.
He stopped performing in the early 1980s, but continued teaching until his death. His masterclasses were so appreciated that he had hundreds of students from all the continents.
for his outstanding achievements. On 12 January 1996, his 80th birthday, a celebration concert was given for him by friends and students in the Wigmore Hall
. The Brindisi String Quartet, Trevor Pinnock
and Anthony Pleeth performed Haydn
, Mozart
and Schubert
. All revenues were donated to the Jacqueline du Pré Multiple Sclerosis Research Fund.
William Pleeth lived with Margaret Good in Finchley
, North London. He died on 6 April 1999, aged 83, having fought leukemia
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.
Source
Jacqueline du Pré
Jacqueline Mary du Pré OBE was a British cellist. She is particularly associated with Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor; her interpretation has been described as "definitive" and "legendary." Her career was cut short by multiple sclerosis, which forced her to stop performing at 28 and led to her...
.
Early years
William Pleeth was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His parents were Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
immigrants from Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. 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
Julius Klengel was a German cellist who is most famous for his etudes and solo pieces written for the instrument. He was the brother of Paul Klengel....
at the Conservatory in Leipzig
Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig is a public university in Leipzig . Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatory of Music, it is the oldest university school of music in Germany....
. 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 and Gregor Piatigorsky 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
Cello Suites (Bach)
The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are some of the most performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello...
of Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, all Caprices by Piatti
Carlo Alfredo Piatti
Carlo Alfredo Piatti was an Italian cellist. He was born at via Borgo Canale, in Bergamo and died in Mozzo, 4 miles from Bergamo....
and 32 cello concertos
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
. At fifteen he played a piece for four cellos by Klengel with Emanuel Feuermann
Emanuel Feuermann
Emanuel Feuermann was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, Fritz Schertel and Julius Klengel in Leipzig. In the same year, 1931, he gave his first public performance of Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's Cello Concerto
Cello Concerto (Dvorák)
The Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191, by Antonín Dvořák was the composer's last solo concerto, and was written in 1894–1895 for his friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan, but premiered by the English cellist Leo Stern.- Structure :...
at the Conservatory in Leipzig. The same year he also made his debut as soloist with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
with Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
's Cello Concerto in D major.
Early career
In 1933 he played in many BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcasts and made his debut at the Aeolian Hall
Aeolian Hall
Aeolian Hall may refer to:*Aeolian Hall , a concert hall near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City*Aeolian Hall , England*Aeolian Hall , a historic music venue in London, Ontario...
in London with the Dvořák Concerto as a soloist of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
conducted by Leslie Heward
Leslie Heward
Leslie Heward was an English composer and conductor.He was particularly associated with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Halle....
. From this moment career took off.
In 1940 performed the Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
Cello Concerto
Cello Concerto (Schumann)
The Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, by Robert Schumann was completed in a period of only two weeks, between 10 October and 24 October 1850, shortly after Schumann became the music director at Düsseldorf.The concerto was never played in Schumann's lifetime...
with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
conducted by Sir Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
. From 1936 to 1941 he was a member of the Blech String Quartet.
War and marriage
During the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Pleeth served five years in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. In 1942 he married the pianist Margaret Good. 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 Margaret Good reached international status.
During the war Pleeth served in the same regiment with the composer Edmund Rubbra
Edmund Rubbra
Edmund Rubbra 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 of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven...
, with whom he became lifelong friends. Edmund 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 Franz Stein Travel, Gordon Jacob
Gordon Jacob
Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.-Life:...
, Mátyás Seiber
Mátyás Seiber
Mátyás György Seiber was a Hungarian-born composer who lived and worked in England from 1935 onward.-Career:Seiber was born in Budapest, and studied there with Zoltán Kodály, with whom he toured Hungary collecting folk songs. In 1928, he became director of the jazz department at the Hoch...
and Benjamin Frankel
Benjamin Frankel
Benjamin Frankel was a British composer. Frankel's most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concertos for violin and viola; his single best-known piece is probably the First Sonata for Solo Violin, which, like his concertos, resulted...
.
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 Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's String Quintet
String Quintet (Schubert)
The String Quintet in C major, D. 956, op. posth. 163, is a piece of chamber music written by Franz Schubert. It was composed during the summer of 1828, two months before his death, and is Schubert's final chamber work. The Quintet was first performed on 17 November 1850 at the Musikverein in...
and the Sextets of Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
with the Amadeus Quartet
Amadeus Quartet
The Amadeus Quartet was a world famous string quartet founded in 1947.Because of their Jewish origin, violinists Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof were driven out of Vienna after Hitler's Anschluss of 1938...
and other well known quartets.
Teacher
William Pleeth was a professor of cello at the Guildhall School of Music and DramaGuildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
in London from 1948 to 1978. From 1977 he was a visiting professor at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. He was much loved by his students, the most famous of them being Jacqueline du Pré
Jacqueline du Pré
Jacqueline Mary du Pré OBE was a British cellist. She is particularly associated with Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor; her interpretation has been described as "definitive" and "legendary." Her career was cut short by multiple sclerosis, which forced her to stop performing at 28 and led to her...
, 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 Jacqueline du Pré for seven years, first privately, later at the Guildhall School. Some of his hundreds of other students are Frans Helmerson, Natasha Brofsky, Colin Carr
Colin Carr
Colin Carr is a British cello soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher.-Biography:Born in Liverpool, Carr is a professor of the cello, currently at the Royal Academy of Music. Carr taught at the New England Conservatory in Boston for sixteen years before taking up his current job at...
, Robert Cohen
Robert Cohen
Robert Cohen is a Canadian comedy writer. He was raised in Calgary, Alberta and has written for The Simpsons , The Wonder Years, The Ben Stiller Show, MADtv, Just Shoot Me!, Father of the Pride, and American Dad!...
, Tim Hugh, Anssi Karttunen
Anssi Karttunen
Anssi Karttunen is a Finnish cellist.Anssi Karttunen's repertoire ranges from the early baroque to the most recent composers. He performs with most world-class orchestras in Europe , Asia Anssi Karttunen (born 1960) is a Finnish cellist.Anssi Karttunen's repertoire ranges from the early baroque to...
, Paul Watkins
Paul Watkins
Paul Watkins may refer to:*Paul Watkins , Welsh cellist and conductor*Paul Watkins *Paul Watkins...
and his own son Anthony Pleeth
Anthony Pleeth
Anthony Pleeth, born in 1948 in London, is an English cellist, specialising in the historically informed performance of music of the 18th and 19th centuries on period instruments.-Biography and career:...
.
He stopped performing in the early 1980s, but continued teaching until his death. His masterclasses 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 EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his outstanding achievements. On 12 January 1996, his 80th birthday, a celebration concert was given for him by friends and students in the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
. The Brindisi String Quartet, Trevor Pinnock
Trevor Pinnock
Trevor David Pinnock CBE is an English conductor, harpsichordist, and occasional organist and pianist.He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert which he helped found and directed from the keyboard for over 30 years in baroque and early classical...
and Anthony Pleeth performed Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
and Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
. All revenues were donated to the Jacqueline du Pré Multiple Sclerosis Research Fund.
William Pleeth lived with Margaret Good in Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, North London. He died on 6 April 1999, aged 83, having fought leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
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
- William Pleeth has captured his thoughts on cello playing in the book Cello, part of the Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. It is based on conversations that Pleeth had with Nona Pyron. Yehudi MenuhinYehudi MenuhinYehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
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-Benjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
Pears SchoolPeter PearsSir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
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. - William Pleeth can be seen and heard on the DVDs that Christopher NupenChristopher NupenChristopher Nupen is a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians.Nupen was born in South Africa to a family of Norwegian descent — his father, E. P...
made about Jacqueline du Pré:- Remembering Jacqueline du Pré, 1994.
- Jacqueline du Pré: in Portrait, 2004.
- Jacqueline du Pré: A Celebration, 2008.
- In the movie Hilary and JackieHilary and JackieHilary and Jackie is a 1998 British biographical film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce is based on the memoir A Genius in the Family by Piers and Hilary du Pré, which chronicles the life and career of their late sister, cellist Jacqueline du Pré...
of Anand TuckerAnand TuckerAnand Tucker is a film director and producer based in London. He began his career directing factual television programming and adverts...
, 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 PatersonBill PatersonBill Paterson is a Scottish stage, film and television actor.-Early years:Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Paterson spent three years as a quantity surveyor's apprentice, before attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama...
.
Source
- DVD's William Pleeth: A life in music. Eight cello masterclasses.
- William Pleeth (red. Nona Pyron): Cello. Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides - Macdonald, London, 1982.
- www.independent.co.uk
- news.bbc.co.uk
- www.answers.com
- www.cello.org
- www.celloheaven.com
- www.cph.rcm.ac.uk
- www.musicsack.com