Anner Bylsma

Anner Bylsma earned acclaim as a master cellist whose flawless execution and pure, uncolored timbre enabled him to navigate an extensive repertoire on both historical and modern instruments. Like numerous other accomplished players, he received his earliest instruction at home, in his case from his father, a versatile musician in his own right. At sixteen he entered the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he studied with Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp, principal cellist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam; it was Boomkamp who first guided him toward the Baroque cello. Bylsma captured the conservatory’s Prix d’excellence in 1957. After taking the principal cello chair with the Netherlands Opera Orchestra, he secured first prize at the Casals Competition in Mexico in 1959. He then became principal cellist of the Concertgebouw in 1962. Six years later he resigned to focus exclusively on solo appearances and chamber-music tours. His regular chamber partners included period flutist Frans Brüggen, harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt, and, during the 1990s and 2000s, keyboardists Malcolm Bilson and Jos van Immerseel. He was also a co-founder of the string ensemble L’Archibudelli. As a soloist he performed frequently with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Tafelmusik, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Freiburger Barock, and the twentieth-century music group Rondom Kwartet.

Bylsma was equally respected as a scholar, pedagogue, and author of the book Bach, the Fencing Master, which examines the first three of Bach’s Cello Suites. His interpretations always originated in close study of the composers’ manuscripts, yet he consistently emphasized to his students that any single reading remained one possibility among many. Although he avoided the word “authentic,” he adhered to period-practice principles by refusing steel strings, a decision fundamental to his tonal character. Both his 1695 Gofriller cello and his 1865 Pressenda were fitted with plain or silver-wound gut. He also owned a five-string violoncello piccolo that he used for recordings of Bach’s solo works.

His extensive discography, issued on numerous labels, ranges from Vivaldi to Hindemith. Many Sony releases, both as soloist and with L’Archibudelli, received the Edison prize, the Diapason d’or, the Liszt prize, and the Vivaldi prize. He was married to violinist Vera Beths and died in late July 2019.