Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned C–G–D–A, an octave above the double bass’s standard tuning. Its range and resonant tone suit both solo and ensemble music.

Cello strings: The four strings of a cello, conventionally tuned C–G–D–A from lowest to highest. Their tuning sets the instrument’s range and gives it a low C string.
Cello concerto: A composition for solo cello accompanied by an orchestra. Concertos place the cello’s expressive range against orchestral forces.
Viola da gamba: A family of bowed string instruments held between the legs and commonly fitted with frets. Its earlier low-register role overlapped with the cello’s as the latter gained prominence.
Violin: The smallest standard member of the modern bowed string family, tuned G–D–A–E. The violin occupies a much higher register and is held under the chin rather than between the knees.
Pablo Casals: A Catalan cellist whose performances and recordings helped establish Bach’s unaccompanied cello suites as concert repertoire. Casals’s interpretation made the suites central to modern cello performance.
Cello bow: A bow used to set cello strings vibrating, typically made with a wooden stick and horsehair. Bowing draws out the cello’s sustained, changing tone.
String quartet: An ensemble of two violins, viola, and cello, also a genre of chamber music written for those instruments. The cello usually anchors the quartet’s bass line while joining its musical conversation.
Andrea Amati: A sixteenth-century Italian luthier associated with the early development of the violin family. Amati’s workshop helped establish the instrument-making tradition from which the cello emerged.
Viola: A bowed string instrument larger than a violin and tuned C–G–D–A, a fifth lower. The viola shares the cello’s open-string pitches but sounds an octave higher.
Mstislav Rostropovich: A Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor known for his performances and advocacy of new music. His collaborations with composers greatly expanded the modern cello repertoire.

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