Carlos Antonio Pini

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(15 April 1902 – 1 January 1989) was a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, known as a soloist, orchestral section leader and chamber musician. He was principal cellist of five major British orchestras between 1932 and 1976, and a teacher at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

Life and career

Pini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of a Scottish mother and an Argentine father. The family was musical; Pini's younger brother Eugene achieved success as the leader of a

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

band popular in the 1930s and 1940s."Anthony Pini – All round gifted British cellist", ''The Times'', 4 January 1989, p. 12 When Pini was ten he moved with his mother to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He was educated there, and then joined a local orchestra, playing under Landon Ronald. He moved to London, playing in the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

Light Orchestra. In 1926 he made the first of many broadcasts for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's String Quartet, K 458."Broadcasting", ''The Times'', 27 August 926, p. 8 In 1932 Sir Thomas Beecham invited Pini to lead the cello section of his new

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

. In 1939 Pini moved to the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

and in 1943 he joined the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.Forbes, Watson and Margaret Campbell
"Pini, Anthony"
Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 29 May 2013 When Beecham set up the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

in 1947 he again invited Pini to be his principal cellist. Pini remained in the position for the rest of Beecham's life. In 1964 he took his final orchestral post, leading the cellos in the orchestra of the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, retiring in 1976. Pini was a member of several chamber ensembles during his career, including the Brosa and

Philharmonia The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

string quartets. ''

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'' rates the Philharmonia recordings of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's ''Death and the Maiden'' and Mozart's ''Hunt'' quartets as classics, and similarly rates Pini's recordings of

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

(with the London Philharmonic and Eduard van Beinum) and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's ''Archduke'' Trio with

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

and

Henry Holst Henry Holst (25 July 1899 – 19 October 1991) was a Danish violinist. In his early career he was leader of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. From the 1930s to the mid-1950s he was based in England, as a soloist and teac ...

. In later years Pini taught at the

and the

, where, in the words of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', "he passed on the classical virtues of his discreet but distinct style". His own instrument was a Grancino cello of 1696. Pini was awarded the

in 1976. His son Carl became a well-known violinist, and led the New Philharmonia Orchestra in the 1970s. Pini died at the age of 86 on New Year's Day 1989, in

Barcombe Barcombe is an East Sussex village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex. The parish has four settlements: old Barcombe (), the oldest settlement in the parish with the parish church; ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pini, Anthony 1902 births 1989 deaths English classical cellists Argentine emigrants to the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Musicians from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Scottish descent 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians People from Barcombe 20th-century cellists Players of the BBC Symphony Orchestra Players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Players of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Players of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House