Lynn Harrell (January 30, 1944 – April 27, 2020) was an American classical cellist. Known for the "penetrating richness" of his sound,[1] Harrell performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras over a career spanning nearly six decades.[2]
In 1960, when Harrell was 15, his father died of cancer.[4] In November 1962, when he was 18, his mother died from injuries sustained from a two-vehicle crash[4] while traveling from Denton to Fort Worth with pianist Jean Mainous to perform a recital; she was violinist in residence (faculty) at the University of North Texas College of Music.[8]
After losing his mother, as Harrell put it, "I moved around to different family friends' houses with my one suitcase and cello until [after] I was 18, when I joined the Cleveland Orchestra. In part, I got that job because [its conductor] George Szell knew my father through their collaboration at the Metropolitan Opera." Harrell was the principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1964 to 1971.[10][4]
Harrell previously played a 1720 Montagnana cello he bought with the proceeds of his parents' estate and also a 1673 Antonio Stradivarius cello that belonged to the late British cellist Jacqueline du Pré. His last instrument was a 2008 cello by Christopher Dungey.[14]
From 1985 to 1993 he held the International Chair for Cello Studies at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London and in 1993 he became Principal of the RAM, a post he held until 1995.[15]
In 2001, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra established the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition in his honor. The competition is open to string players and pianists, ages 8 to 18, from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.[6]
Death
Harrell died at his home in Santa Monica, California, on April 27, 2020, at the age of 76.[4][3][17] According to his wife Helen Nightengale, he died suddenly, probably by cardiac arrest.[18]
Personal life
Harrell had twin children from his first marriage to the journalist and writer Linda Blandford, whom he married in 1976[4] —Kate, an actress and yoga teacher, and Eben, a journalist, both of whom live and work in London.[11]
In 2002, he married violinist Helen Nightengale, a former student; the couple had two children, Hanna and Noah.[4] Harrell and Nightengale also founded HEARTbeats, which "strives to help children in need harness the power of music to better cope with, and recover from, the extreme challenges of poverty and conflict."[19][20][5]
Harrell seldom trusted his instruments to airline baggage handlers and in 2012 he achieved a certain amount of notoriety when Delta Air Lines kicked him out of its frequent-flier program for registering and traveling with his cello, which had been enrolled as “Mr. Cello Harrell.”[4]
However, in May 2001 Harrell forgot his cello when leaving a taxicab. The cab driver turned it in, and it was returned unscathed.[21]
^"Carnegie Hall". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2020-04-29. We remember cellist Lynn Harrell, who made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1961 as part of a New York Philharmonic Young People's Concert at the age of 17.
^Bernas, Richard, and Dennis K. McIntire. "Lynn Harrell". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)(subscription required)
