Peter Stumpf is the former principal

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 ...

of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

. He was educated first at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

as a student of Orlando Cole and then the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

. He started his professional career at age sixteen as a cellist in the Hartford Symphony, then spent twelve years as associate principal of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

, before assuming his position at the start of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2002/2003 season. He took a year's sabbatical from the LA Phil in 2011 to teach full-time at Indiana University's Jacob School of Music. He left the orchestra permanently in 2012. Stumpf is also the cellist of the Johannes String Quartet. Musicians he has collaborated with include

Emanuel Ax Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born June 8, 1949) is a Grammy Award-winning American classical pianist. He is known for his chamber music collaborations with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Young Uck Kim, as well as his piano recitals and p ...

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

Mitsuko Uchida is a Japanese-English classical pianist and conductor. Born in Japan and naturalised in England, she is particularly notable for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert. She has appeared with many notable orchestras, recorded a wide repert ...

, and the

Emerson String Quartet The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet, was an American string quartet initially formed as a student group at the Juilliard School in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and began touri ...

. Stumpf has also taught the cello at the

and

USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

Stolen cello

On April 27, 2004, the '' General Kyd'', a $3.5 million

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

on loan to Stumpf from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was stolen after he left it on his porch. It was discovered in a dumpster by Melanie Stevens, a thirty-year-old nurse, after a home surveillance video from across the street showed the cello being lifted by a clumsy thief on a bicycle at around 6:30 am. Stevens initially asked her boyfriend to turn it into a CD cabinet, though a week and a half later, she caught a news report about the missing cello and the $50,000 reward for its return. She identified it on the police website and sought to return it, with the aid of a lawyer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stumpf, Peter American classical cellists Living people American music educators Curtis Institute of Music alumni New England Conservatory alumni New England Conservatory faculty USC Thornton School of Music faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra