The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the loss of American cellist and teacher Lynn Harrell, who died on Monday. He was seventy-six.
Lynn Harrell (Christian Steiner photo)
“Lynn Harrell collaborated with me as a soloist in Philadelphia,” commented Riccardo Muti from his home in Italy. “He was an extraordinary musician and a man of great humanity. We will miss him!”
For fifty years, Harrell was a frequent and favorite guest with the Chicago Symphony, appearing with the Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and in Orchestra Hall. A complete list of his appearances is below.
July 17, 1966, Ravinia Festival
MILHAUD Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 136
Lukas Foss, conductor
June 30, 1973, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
James Levine, conductor
July 20, 1974, Ravinia Festival
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129
James Levine, conductor
July 12, 1975, Ravinia Festival
PROKOFIEV Symphony-Concerto in E Minor, Op. 125
James Levine, conductor
April 8, 9, and 11, 1976, Orchestra Hall
BOCCHERINI Concerto for Violoncello in B-flat Major
TCHAIKOVSKY Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62
Kirill Kondrashin, conductor
July 3, 1976, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (Triple)
Robert Mann, violin
André-Michel Schub, piano
James Levine, conductor
July 28, 1977, Ravinia Festival
HAYDN Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, H. VIIb:2
BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double)
Itzhak Perlman, violin
James Conlon, conductor
July 7, 1979, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Don Quixote, Op. 35
Milton Preves, viola
James Levine, conductor
July 24, 1980, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
James Conlon, conductor
Lynn Harrell (Christian Steiner photo)
July 3, 1981, Ravinia Festival
SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
James Levine, conductor
November 26 and 27, 1982, Orchestra Hall
ELGAR Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85
Varujan Kojian, conductor
July 1, 1983, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double)
Elmar Oliveira, violin
James Levine, conductor
July 20, 1985, Ravinia Festival
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129
Adam Fischer, conductor
September 26, 27, and 28, 1985, Orchestra Hall
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
June 28, 1986, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double)
Shlomo Mintz, violin
James Levine, conductor
June 29, 1986, Ravinia Festival
VILLA-LOBOS Bachiana Brasileira No. 5
Kathleen Battle, soprano
James Levine, conductor
June 22 1991, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Don Quixote, Op. 35
Charles Pikler, viola
James Levine, conductor
July 31, 1993, Ravinia Festival
BLOCH Schelomo (Hebraic Rhapsody)
HAYDN Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, H. VIIb:1
Carlo Rizzi, conductor
March 5, 6, 7, and 11, 1998, Orchestra Hall
DUTILLEUX Tout un monde lointain . . .
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
September 17, 1999, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (Triple)
Pinchas Zukerman, violin
William Eddins, piano and conductor
September 18, 1999, Orchestra Hall
SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor
March 28, 29, 30, and April 2, 2002, Orchestra Hall
LUTOSŁAWSKI Cello Concerto
William Eddins, conductor
June 20, 2003, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double)
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
Marin Alsop, conductor
August 8, 2004, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
James Conlon, conductor
January 26, 27, and 28, 2006, Orchestra Hall
ELGAR Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85
Mark Elder, conductor
July 21, 2007, Ravinia Festival
BLOCH Schelomo (Hebraic Rhapsody)
BOCCHERINI/Grützmacher Cello Concerto in B-flat Major, G. 482
Andrew Litton, conductor
August 21, 2016, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme in A Major, Op. 33
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
Numerous tributes have appeared online, on NPR, Gramophone, and The Dallas Morning News, among many others.
from the archives 
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 3, 2023 at 12:18 PM
Remembering Yuri Temirkanov | from the archives
[…] No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (Classical)SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107Lynn Harrell, celloTCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)Saint Petersburg Philharmonic […]
August 13, 2023 at 6:34 AM
Happy birthday, Kathleen Battle! | from the archives
[…] No. 5MAHLER Symphony No. 4James Levine, conductorKathleen Battle, sopranoAdolph Herseth, trumpetLynn Harrell, […]
July 11, 2022 at 7:00 AM
Happy birthday, Herbert Blomstedt! | from the archives
[…] 5, 6, 7, and 11, 1998MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26DUTILLEUX Tout un monde lointain . . .Lynn Harrell, celloDVORÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. […]
March 30, 2022 at 6:46 PM
Remembering Jonathan Pegis | from the archives
[…] Department, where his first teacher was Alan Harris; he also studied with Lee Fiser, Paul Katz, and Lynn Harrell. Pegis completed undergraduate studies at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While […]
August 31, 2020 at 9:32 AM
Happy birthday, Itzhak Perlman! | from the archives
[…] 28, 1977, Ravinia Festival BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double) Lynn Harrell, cello MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 James Levine, […]
April 29, 2020 at 12:14 AM
David Sanders
I was lucky enough to have played in the orchestra for most of those 25 performances. The first two were before I joined, with the second one being just the year before. I especially remember the one from July 12, 1975, my second Ravinia season. It was the Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante, one of the most difficult pieces in the cello repertoire, and it had been raining the entire day and throughout the concert. Plus, it was very cold, I remember it being 48 degrees. With temperatures like that you would have thought that Lynn’s playing might have been affected. But it was a breathtaking and technically astounding performance.