(b New York, 30 Jan 1944). American cellist. He studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School and with Orlando Cole at the Curtis Institute, making his début with the New York PO at Carnegie Hall in 1960. He was principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra (1965-71) and performed as a soloist under Szell in New York. He has given recitals in Europe and America and been a soloist with many leading orchestras. His playing is noted for its power, its warmth of expression and its purity of intonation. He was appointed Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in 1993.
Lynn Harrell, born to musician parents, at the age of 8 decided to learn the cello, taking initial lessons with Heinrich Joachim of the New York Philharmonic. When the family moved to Dallas, TX, Lynn found an excellent teacher in Lev Aronson, the first to recognize his talent. Lynn says that Aronson "showed me passion, for the instrument, for music and for life." After high school Lynn entered the Juilliard School, studying with the renowned Leonard Rose. Harrell then went to the Curtis Institute for further studies with Orlando Cole, who recommended that Harrell join an orchestra as preparation for his desired solo career. Harrell consulted with his godfather Robert Shaw. At the time Shaw was the choral director of the Cleveland Orchestra under conductor Georg Szell. Shaw arranged an audition for Harrell, who, at the age of 18, won a spot in the orchestra. Two years later Szell appointed him principal cellist, a position he held until 1971.
Harrell's years at Cleveland yielded a lifelong friendship with the orchestra's associate conductor James Levine. Levine helped acquaint Harrell with a wide range of repertoire, particularly the music of the post-World War II era. Levine inspired Harrell to study all aspects of his own playing style: "I ripped it apart and built it back together again," he says. Rather than simply learning the cello parts of the orchestral pieces he played, he studied the full scores. He has maintained that habit during his solo career, studying all aspects of the accompaniment to the solo works he plays. He strongly urges string players contemplating a solo career to follow his lead and first play in an orchestra or chamber ensemble. When Szell passed away, Harrell was 27 and felt he was ready to pursue his solo career, so he left the Cleveland Orchestra. For his first engagement in New York, the initial audience turnout was dismal. He subsisted on a small number of concerts, and managed to attract the attention of savvy New York impresarios. In 1972 he was invited to appear as soloist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The New York Times enthused, "This young man has everything." His career began to build and in 1975 it reached a decisive turning point when he won the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, launching his solo career into the international limelight.
Subsequently, Harrell has become known as one of the world's finest cellists, performing with the leading ensembles of the world. A special part of his life is the Aspen Music Festival, where he has spent his summers performing and teaching for nearly 50 years. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Piatigorsky Award, and the Ford Foundation Concert Artists' Award. Before Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Harrell appeared in a 1994 Vatican concert dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Gilbert Levine. Harrell also appeared on the 1994 Grammy Awards broadcast, performing with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. His extensive discography of over 30 recordings include the complete Bach Cello Suites, numerous premieres, and collaborations with the world's foremost artists. ~ Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide
While still a teenager, Harrell was orphaned. His father died of cancer in 1960 and then, two years later, his mother died in a car accident when Lynn Harrell was 17. "After that", as he has said, "I moved around to different family friends' houses with my one suitcase and cello until 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 thereafter a cellist with the Cleveland Orchestra and its principal cellist from 1964 to 1971.
Harrell made his recital debut in New York in 1971 and since then has performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestras. He has been a at several music schools and conservatories, including the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Juilliard School. He served as the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute from 1988-1992. From 1986-1993, he held the post of "Gregor Piatigorsky Endowed Chair in Violoncello" at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles; he was only the second person to ever hold the title, following Piatigorsky himself. Most recently he was on the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University until his retirement in the spring of 2009. His wife is the violinist Helen Nightengale; they have two children, Hanna and Noah. He has twin children from his first marriage to the journalist and writer Linda Blandford - Kate, an actress and yoga teacher, and Eben, a journalist, both of whom live and work in London.
From 1985-93 he held the International Chair for Cello Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and in 1993 he became Principal of the Royal Academy in London, a post he held through 1995.
On April 7, 1994, he appeared at the Vatican with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Gilbert Levine in a concert dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The audience for this historic event, which was the Vatican's first official commemoration of the Holocaust, included Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome.
