The cello has produced some of the most soul-stirring music in history.
And that's in part thanks to the extraordinary talents who have mastered the instrument. From the deep, resonant tones of Pablo Casals to the electrifying performances of Jacqueline du Pré, the world’s greatest cellists have elevated this instrument to new heights. Whether interpreting Bach’s Cello Suites with delicate precision or tackling Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with passionate intensity, these musicians have left an indelible mark on classical music.
In this article, we celebrate the best cellists of all time: virtuosos who have shaped the way we hear and appreciate the cello, blending technical brilliance with raw emotion. Whether you prefer the rich lyricism of Mstislav Rostropovich, the modern artistry of Yo-Yo Ma, or the boundary-pushing innovations of contemporary players, there’s no denying that these cellists have changed the musical landscape forever. So, sit back and let the legends of the cello take centre stage!
Best cellists of all time
21. Beatrice Harrison (1892-1965)
British cellist Beatrice Harrison made the first recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in 1920 with the composer conducting. She also made one of the BBC's earliest live outside broadcasts in May 1924 in her garden, duetting with nightingales. The conductor Sir Henry Wood and the composers Edward Elgar and Charles Villiers Stanford were all great admirers of Harrison's playing.
20. Sol Gabetta (1981-)
The Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta began her cello studies at the age of four, and won her first competition at 10. A highly individual performer, she's celebrated for her pure, vibrant sound, her mastery of timbre, and her highly communicative performing style. All qualities that ensure her presence on our list of music's best cellists.
19. Alisa Weilerstein (1982-)
Youngest on our list of best cellists, American Alisa Weilerstein made her debut at age 13 with the Cleveland Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. Hailing from a musical family, she continues to play piano trios with her parents as the Weilerstein Trio.
A champion of contemporary music, Weilerstein has worked extensively with composers Osvaldo Golijov, Lera Auerbach and Joseph Hallman. She has won many admirers for her profound musicality in interpretations of great emotion and sophistication.
18. Gautier Capuçon (1981-)
Brother to violinist Renaud Capuçon, French cellist Gautier began his studies at the age of five. Celebrated for his exquisite blend of technical brilliance and emotional depth, he possesses a remarkably rich, refined tone and a fluid, expressive style that brings each piece to life. Beyond his command of the standard repertoire, Capuçon's commitment to contemporary music and his work with young artists cement his status as a leading cellist and a true ambassador for the instrument.
17. Truls Mørk (1961-)
Truls Mørk's greatness lies in his combination of technical prowess and fierce integrity. Known for his deeply thoughtful and intense interpretations, he possesses a pure, lean tone and a highly nuanced vibrato. A champion of new music, Mørk has premiered over 30 works, solidifying his role as a vital link between the classical tradition and the contemporary repertoire. His recordings of works by Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Dvořák have won praise and awards, including two Grammy nominations (for recordings of Shostakovich, Schumann and Bloch) and a Grammy Award for his Britten Cello Suites.
16. Lynn Harrell (1944-2020)
A versatile and dynamic performer with a big, warm sound, the American cellist Lynn Harrell was an influential teacher and a soloist who collaborated with top orchestras globally. Born to musician parents, he studied at New York's Juilliard School with Leonard Rose, and subsequently at the prestigious Curtis Institute with Orlando Cole, before embarking on an international career spanning nearly six decades as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras.
15. Heinrich Schiff (1951-2016)
The Austrian cellist and conductor Heinrich Schiff was born to composer parents. His recordings of the Bach Cello Suites, Shostakovich Cello Concertos and the Brahms Double Concerto won multiple prizes. After suffering a stroke in 2008, he gave up performing. By then, though, he had established himself as one of the best cellists to have graced the world's concert halls.
14. Natalia Gutman (1942-)
Russian cellist Natalia Gutman was something of a musical prodigy. She took up the cello aged five, studying first with her stepfather and subsequently her grandfather, before receiving lessons from Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory.
Gutman has performed with the world’s leading orchestras under conductors including Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink and Gustavo Dudamel. Her robust tone and magnetic style make her a deserved entry in our list of best cellists.
13. Steven Isserlis (1958-)
Born into a multigenerational musical family, British cellist Steven Isserlis is an acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, educator, broadcaster and author of musical texts for both adults and children. A keen exponent of contemporary music, he has premiered works by composers including John Tavener, David Matthews, Wolfgang Rihm, Mikhail Pletnev and Thomas Adès. Isserlis is renowned universal acclaim for his scholarly musicianship, technical mastery and use of distinctive gut strings.
12. Mischa Maisky (1948-)
The wild-haired, passionate iconoclast of the cello, Mischa Maisky is a performer who demands your attention. His is not a playing style of cool restraint; it's a full-throated, emotional outpouring. With an opulent, singing tone and a flamboyant stage presence, Maisky prioritises heart over textbook perfection. A unique student of both Rostropovich and Piatigorsky, he absorbed the best of two worlds to forge his own fiercely individual path. Maisky's is a unique, powerful voice that refuses to be ignored, making every performance a deeply personal and unforgettable event.
11. Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Earliest in our list of best cellists is the Italian composer Luigi Boccherini. A true virtuoso, Boccherini often played violin repertoire on the cello at pitch (i.e. as it would have sounded on the violin). He wrote a large amount of chamber music, including over one hundred string quintets for two violins, viola and two cellos, nearly a hundred string quartets, and numerous string trios and sonatas. Boccherini's orchestral music, meanwhile, includes around 30 symphonies and twelve cello concertos. These include the Concerto in B flat, which remains popular to this day.
10. David Popper (1843-1913)
This Czech composer and musician was one of the greatest cellists of his day, and composed some of the most fiendishly difficult works for his instrument. Among his cello compositions are four concertos and a Requiem for three cellos and orchestra. There are also a number of shorter works, written to highlight the cello’s unique sound and range. His High School of Cello Playing, Op. 73, a book of cello études, is widely used by advanced cello students today.
9. Paul Tortelier (1914-90)
A cellist firmly in the Romantic tradition, Frenchman Paul Tortelier was blessed with an excellent left-hand technique and a subtle, accurate bow arm. His tone was fairly narrow and concentrated, yet he could also play with considerable warmth. He toured the world following WW2 as a high-profile soloist, taught at conservatoires in France, Germany and China, and gave televised masterclasses in the UK. He was particularly associated with Richard Strauss's orchestral tone poem Don Quixote, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Bach's Cello Suites.
8. Pierre Fournier (1906-1986)
Known as the 'aristocrat of the cello', Pierre Fournier possessed a refined and elegant playing style with a beautiful, singing tone. His interpretations were celebrated for their nobility and poise. The young Fournier overcame childhood polio to enjoy a glittering career for over half a century. His style was nobly elegant and refined where, say, Rostropovich’s was muscular and extrovert. He formed a highly successful trio with violinist Henryk Szeryng and pianist Wilhelm Kempff, excelling in the music of Beethoven.
7. Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976)
Born in Russia, Gregor Piatigorsky trained at the Moscow Conservatory and was principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler. A musician of immense charm and charisma, Piatigorsky was known for his commanding presence and warm, lyrical tone. He was also a passionate chamber musician and a notable teacher. He also had a droll sense of humour. Asked why he played the cello rather than the violin, Piatigorsky shot back: 'Because the cello is far more comfortable to sit behind than the violin!'
6. János Starker (1924-2013)
The Hungarian-American cellist János Starker was a child prodigy who made his first public appearances at age six. As an 11-year-old student at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, he took inspiration from faculty members including Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók.
For decades he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of distinguished professor. Here are some reflections on Starker as a man and a teacher. As a player he was known for his virtuosity, his smooth, focused tone, and his dislike of wide, Romantic vibrato.
5. Yo-Yo Ma (1955-)
American cellist Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris to musical Chinese parents. A child prodigy, Ma began giving public concerts at the age of five. By the age of seven, he was performing for presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. High-profile television appearances followed, cementing his relationship with such leading musical figures as Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern. Here's a seven-year-old Yo-Yo Ma playing for JFK in 1962, introduced by the great Leonard Bernstein.
4. Emanuel Feuermann (1902-42)
The Ukraine-born Emanuel Feuermann was a cellist of spectacular virtuosity and artistry, of whom the great conductor Arturo Toscanini said ‘there is no one after him.’ Feuermann settled in America in 1937 and was immediately recognised as an outstanding soloist, and formed a fruitful partnership with violinist Jascha Heifetz and pianist Arthur Rubinstein, himself one of the greatest pianists of all time. Their plans to record the complete piano trio repertoire were cut short by Feuermann's early death from an infection after a minor operation.
3. Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987)
An iconic cellist for the British, Jacqueline du Pré inspired a generation with her dazzling performances, until her career was cruelly cut short by multiple sclerosis when she was in her late twenties. Her heart-on-sleeve recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto achieved legendary status, and epitomised the rapturously expressive nature of her playing style. She is a fixture on any list of the best cellists of all time.
We have Christopher Nupen to thank for capturing her spirited, humorous character on film playing the great chamber works of Schubert and Beethoven with pianist Daniel Barenboim, violinists Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and, then on the double bass, Zubin Mehta.
2. Pablo Casals (1876-1973)
The great Pablo Casals revolutionised the cello as a solo instrument. In the words of Fritz Kreisler (himself one of our 20 greatest violinists of all time), Casals was ‘the greatest musician ever to draw bow’. He played for both Queen Victoria, at 22, and the American president John F. Kennedy in his eighties.
Casals's most significant legacy, aside from the cellists he inspired, was the rediscovery of Bach's solo cello suites, previously dismissed as technical exercises.
Casals was driven by passionate political and moral convictions. These led to his voluntary exile from his beloved Catalonia from the Spanish Civil War until the end of his life. For 30 years he effectively silenced his instrument in protest against the West’s complicity in Fascism.
And the greatest cellist of all time is...
1. Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007)
Mstislav Rostropovich will always be remembered as the inspiration for the great cello masterworks in the second half of the 20th century.
Close friendships with the composers Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Britten gave rise to the former’s two striking Cello Concertos, Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante and Sonata, Britten’s stormy Cello Symphony and the deeply personal three Solo Suites.
- Rostropovich: five essential recordings
- Britten's Cello Suite No. 1: a guide to a cello masterpiece and its best recordings
‘Slava’s’ legacy is astonishing: he premiered nearly 200 works in his lifetime, many commissioned by or written for him, and raised the cellistic bar with his powerful, virtuosic technique.
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