The Adventures of a Cello

<div> <p>In 1720 Antonio Stradivari crafted an exquisite work of art-a cello known as the Piatti. Over the next three centuries of its life the Piatti cello left its birthplace of Cremona Italy and resided in Spain Ireland England Italy Germany and the United States. In 1978 the Piatti became the musical soul mate of world-renowned cellist Carlos Prieto with whom it has given concerts around the world.</p> <p>In this delightful book Mr. Prieto recounts the adventurous life of his beloved Cello Prieto tracing its history through each of its previous owners from Stradivari in 1720 to himself. He then describes his noteworthy experiences of playing the Piatti cello with which he has premiered some eighty compositions. In this part of their mutual story Prieto gives a concise summary of his own remarkable career and his relationships with many illustrious personalities including Igor Stravinsky Dmitry Shostakovich Pablo Casals Mstislav Rostropovich Yo-Yo Ma and Gabriel García Márquez. A new epilogue in which he describes recent concert tours in Moscow Siberia and China and briefer visits to South Korea Taiwan and Venezuela as well as recent recitals with Yo-Yo Ma brings the story up to 2009.</p> <p>To make the story of his cello complete Mr. Prieto also provides a brief history of violin making and a succinct review of cello music from Stradivari to the present. He highlights the work of composers from Latin America Spain and Portugal for whose music he has long been an advocate and principal performer.</p> </div>