Podcasts Culture The Essay The Soul of Music

The Soul of Music

Published: Nov. 23, 2023, 1 p.m.

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Writer, musician and broadcaster Kate Kennedy takes a personal look at five lost cellos, and what they can tell us of those who played and loved them and how our identities are shaped by the physical, social and psychological impacts of performance.

Can a cello hold its player's soul? Jewish-Hungarian Pal Hermann was hailed as 'the next Pablo Casals' in the 1930s. He is now completely forgotten. Kate Kennedy retraces his steps across Europe, with his unique Gagliano cello as he attempted to escape the Nazis, from Berlin to Paris, to Toulouse and finally to Lithuania. Hermann\\u2019s cello has been lost since 1952, but the key to finding it, she discovers, is an inscription burnt into the side of it. 'I am the soul of music'. She reflects on her quest to find Hermann's soul, his cello, and how near we can get to recovering a great and neglected musician himself.

Producer: Adrian Washbourne\\nTechnical production by Mike Sherwood\\nExecutive Producer: Rami Tzabar\\nA TellTale Industries production for BBC Radio 3

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