When Klaus Wallendorf, a steady member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, picks up the French horn the audience melts away – when he puts pen to paper he has them eating out of his hand whilst chuckling. It’s no wonder that he was appointed Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s appreciation expert, as his laudations sound something like this:
‘When in the summer of 1970 I snorkelled through the shoals in the sea of notes with my baton and horn mouth piece, the 12 cellists had not yet been established as an ensemble. The cello in its development history had reached its technical zenith though. Rostropowitsch’s recording of Dvoráks cello concert made me weak at the knees. By the open skylight during a short break in the constant heavy rain, with the stereo turned up to the heavens, Evelyn enthused to me about the new playing technique which involved positioning the instrument in a virtually lying position. She explained to me the small world of the big spine, the frog, the scroll, the rib, the hair of the bow, the stringing, the cello’s historical development, and how insurance damages are dealt with whilst on tour, while I in the cross-draft of her exposition made myself useful practising the newly learnt lip trill.’
Already at an early age Wallendorf was infatuated with a cellist, and even after the love and the woman had made themselves scarce, a deep attachment towards the instrument has remained. Thus the ap-proaching 40 year anniversary of the ‘Twelve Cellists’ is a good occasion for Wallendorf to devote a book to the cello in general and especially to the 12 cellists – and to all you fellow cello players and admirers of this world.
www.die12cellisten.de
