Anner Bylsma
Playing with impeccable technique and a beautiful, unadulterated tone, Anner Bylsma was acknowledged as a master cellist, comfortable in a wide range of music on both period and modern cellos.
As they were for many gifted musicians, Bylsma's first lessons were from a parent, in this case his father, also a multi-talented musician. At the age of 16, he enrolled at the Royal Conservatory, The Hague, to study with Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp, principal cellist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. It was Boomkamp who introduced Bylsma to the Baroque cello. Bylsma won the school's Prix d'excellence in 1957, and after becoming the Netherlands Opera Orchestra's principal cellist, he won first prize in the Casals Competition in Mexico in 1959. He himself then became principal cellist of the Concertgebouw in 1962. Six years later he left the orchestra to devote his performing career to solo and chamber ensemble touring. His chamber music collaborators often included period flutist Frans Brüggen, harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt, and in the 1990s-2000s keyboardists Malcolm Bilson and Jos van Immerseel. Bylsma was also a co-founder of the string chamber ensemble L'Archibudelli. As a solo performer he plays regularly with such orchestras as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Tafelmusik, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Freiburger Barock, and the 20th century music ensemble Rondom Kwartet.
Bylsma was also a noted scholar and teacher, and author of Bach, the Fencing Master, about the first three of Bach's Cello Suites. His playing was always based on what he found in the composers' manuscripts. However, he quickly admitted that his interpretation of a work was not and should not be the only one, which he also impressed on his students. Although he didn't like to use the term "authentic," it was in keeping with period performance that he avoided the use of steel strings, and this was a major element of his tone. Both his 1695 Gofriller cello and his 1865 Pressenda were strung with gut or silver-wrapped gut. He also had a five-string "violoncello piccolo" that he used to record Bach's solo works.
His recordings can be found on a variety of labels, covering a variety of works, from Vivaldi to Hindemith. Many of his recordings on Sony, both as a soloist and with L'Archibudelli, have won the Edison prize, the Diapason d'or, the Liszt prize, and the Vivaldi prize.
Bylsma was married to violinist Vera Beths. He died in late July 2019.
© Patsy Morita /TiVo
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Vivaldi: 6 Sonatas Violoncelle Et Basse Continue
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi on 1 jan. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Concertos
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi on 16 aug. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cello Suites, Vol. 2 (Nos. 4, 5 & 6)
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 20 aug. 1999
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Flute Sonatas from the Italian Baroque, Vol. 2
Frans Brüggen, Anner Bylsma, Gustav Leonhardt
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 7 feb. 2020
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Boccherini: Cello Concertos
Concertmuziek - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 jan. 1965
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Baroque Music for Cello
Kamermuziek - Released by Warner Classics International on 7 mrt. 1997
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Luigi Boccherini
The Boccherini Quartet, Anner Bylsma
Klassiek - Released by Channel Classics on 1 jan. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Early Recordings, Vol. 1
Frans Brüggen, The Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra, Anner Bylsma, André Rieu, Gustav Leonhardt
Klassiek - Released by IDIS on 11 mei 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leo: Six Cello Concertos
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon, Anner Bylsma
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 jan. 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Pariata/Sonaten (2)
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi on 19 jul. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Telemann: Recorder Sonatas & Fantasias
Frans Brüggen, Anner Bylsma, Gustav Leonhardt
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 jul. 1993
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Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 1, 2 & 3
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 1 jan. 1999
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C.P.E. Bach: Sämtliche Flötensonaten
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Klassiek - Released by Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm (MDG) on 1 jan. 1995
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DHM Splendeurs: Boccherini: Concertos Violoncelle
Concertmuziek - Released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi on 1 jan. 1989
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Boccherini: Cellokonzerte / Sinfonien
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi on 1 jan. 1989
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