Description

WILLIAM PLEETH (LONDON, ENGLAND, 12 JANUARY, 1916 – FINCHLEY, NORTH LONDON, 6 APRIL, 1999)

William Pleeth was born in London. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Warsaw, Poland. Many generations of his family had been professional musicians. He started to learn the cello at six and his talent was quickly noticed. At nine he became a pupil of Herbert Walenn at the London Cello School. At thirteen Pleeth won a two-year scholarship to study with Julius Klengel at the Conservatory in Leipzig. He was the youngest person ever to receive this scholarship at the time. Pleeth much appreciated Klengel.  When he was fifteen years old, he had learned all the Cello Suites of Bach, all Caprices by Piatti and 32 cello concertos. At fifteen he played a piece for four cellos by Klengel with Emanuel Feuermann, Fritz Schertel and Julius Klengel in Leipzig. In the same year, 1931, he gave his first public performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto at the Conservatory in Leipzig. The same year he also made his debut as soloist with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major. In 1933 he played in many BBC broadcasts and made his debut at the Aeolian Hall in London with the Dvořák Concerto as a soloist of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leslie Heward. From this moment his career took off. In 1940 Pleeth performed the Schumann Cello Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. From 1936 to 1941 he was a member of the Blech String Quartet. During the Second World War Pleeth served five years in the British Army. In 1942 he married the pianist Margaret Good. They performed together for more than forty years and made numerous recordings together. In 1952 Pleeth formed the original Allegri String Quartet with violinists Eli Goren and James Barton and violist Patrick Ireland. For him, chamber music was the most satisfying form of music-making. He often performed Schubert’s String Quintet and the Sextets of Johannes Brahms with the Amadeus Quartet and other well-known quartets. William Pleeth was a professor of cello at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London from 1948 to 1978. From 1977 he was a visiting professor at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music. In 1989, Pleeth was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his outstanding achievements. On 12 January 1996, his 80th birthday, a celebration concert was given for him by friends and students in the Wigmore Hall. The Brindisi String Quartet, Trevor Pinnock and Anthony Pleeth performed Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. All revenues were donated to the Jacqueline du Pré Multiple Sclerosis Research Fund. William Pleeth lived with Margaret Good in Finchley, North London. He died on 6 April 1999, aged 83, having fought leukemia for four years. He was survived by his wife, his son and daughter and three grandchildren.

TRACKLIST

1. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms) Adagio affetuoso with Margaret Good (piano)
2. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms) Adagio affetuoso (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
3. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms) Allegro molto with Margaret Good (piano)
4. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms) Allegro vivace with Margaret Good (piano)
5. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms) Allegro vivace (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
6. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms) Allegro passionato with Margaret Good (piano)
7. Sonata in F Op. 99 (Brahms)Allegro passionato (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
8. Sonata No.1 in B flat Op.41 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano Andante with Margaret Good (piano)
9. Sonata No.1 in B flat Op.41 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano Andante (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
10. Sonata No.1 in B flat Op.41 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano Allegro assai with Margaret Good (piano)
11. Sonata No.1 in B flat Op.41 (Mendelssohn)for cello and Piano Allegro assai (concl.)
12. Sonata No.1 in B flat Op.41 (Mendelssohn)for cello and Piano Allegro vivace with Margaret Good (piano)
13. Sonata No.1 in B flat Op.41 (Mendelssohn)for cello and Piano Allegro vivace (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
14. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano 1st. Mvt: Allegro assai vivace with Margaret Good (piano)
15. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano 1st. Mvt: Allegro assai vivace (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
16. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano 2nd. Mvt: Allegretto scherzando with Margaret Good (piano)
17. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn)for cello and Piano 2nd. Mvt: Allegretto scherzando (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
18. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn)for cello and Piano 3rd. Mvt: Adagio with Margaret Good (piano)
19. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn) for cello and Piano 3rd. Mvt: Adagio (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)
20. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 (Mendelssohn)for cello and Piano 4th. Mvt: Molto allegro e vivace with Margaret Good (piano)
21. Sonata No.2 in D Major Op.58 for cello and Piano 4th. Mvt: Molto allegro e vivace (concl.) with Margaret Good (piano)