The Essay - The Soul of Music
Writer, musician and broadcaster Kate Kennedy takes a personal look at five lost cellos, and what they can tell us of those who played and loved them and how our identities are shaped by the physical, social and psychological impacts of performance.
Can a cello hold its player's soul? Jewish-Hungarian Pal Hermann was hailed as 'the next Pablo Casals' in the 1930s. He is now completely forgotten. Kate Kennedy retraces his steps across Europe, with his unique Gagliano cello as he attempted to escape the Nazis, from Berlin to Paris, to Toulouse and finally to Lithuania. Hermann’s cello has been lost since 1952, but the key to finding it, she discovers, is an inscription burnt into the side of it. 'I am the soul of music'. She reflects on her quest to find Hermann's soul, his cello, and how near we can get to recovering a great and neglected musician himself.
Producer: Adrian Washbourne
Technical production by Mike Sherwood
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
A TellTale Industries production for BBC Radio 3
Published on Thursday, 23rd November 2023.
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