Jules Eskin Archives

Meet the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s New Principal Cellist, Blaise Déjardin

It’s rare that at CelloBello we have contributors undergoing major professional shifts, so we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the recent Boston Symphony Orchestra Principal audition that was won by Blaise Déjardin, a long-time CB blogger. For our readers, we wanted to bring light to Blaise’s motivations, aspirations, and perceptions of the audition process, directly from him to you. Thank you for your candidness, Blaise! Blogmaster: Why did you decide to audition for the principal chair? Blaise: There are many reasons, but I think the biggest is that I saw it as an opportunity for growth. After 10 years in the section, of exploring and trying to improve, this seemed like a great chance to keep doing that and to keep challenging myself. So, I thought it [...]

By Blogmaster|2018-08-05T06:28:50-04:00June 25th, 2018|Categories: Auditions, Interviews, Orchestra|Tags: BSO, perception, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jules Eskin, orchestra, motivation, challenge, Shostakovich, musicianship, Audition|

Jules Eskin, Principal Cellist at Boston Symphony Orchestra, Passes at Age 85

Reprinted from the Boston Symphony Orchestra 11/17/2016 Jules Eskin, the legendary principal cellist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 53 years, passed away at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, after a long struggle with cancer. Mr. Eskin began his more than half-century tenure as BSO principal cello in 1964 and since 1969 occupied the Philip R. Allen Chair, endowed in perpetuity. He played for five different music directors, including Erich Leinsdorf, William Steinberg, Seiji Ozawa, James Levine, and the BSO's current music director, Andris Nelsons, and performed as soloist with the orchestra on numerous occasions. He was featured as soloist with the orchestra in Richard Strauss's Don Quixote, Ernest Bloch's Schelomo, Brahms's Double Concerto, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, William Schuman's Song of Orpheus, and cello concertos of Samuel Barber, Antonín Dvořák, Franz Joseph Haydn, Camille [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T04:39:46-04:00November 17th, 2016|Categories: Artistic Vision, Interpersonal Relationships, Interviews|Tags: Jules Eskin, CelloBlog, cello, cellobello, orchestra, cellist, BSO, Boston Symphony Orchestra|

Rambling About Tanglewood: Tales of a BSO Survivor

Reposted from The Berkshire Eagle. LENOX—It's been two times 50 for Jules Eskin this summer: the conclusion of 50 years as the Boston Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist, coinciding with the conclusion of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players' 50th anniversary season. That automatically identifies him as a founding member of the chamber ensemble. He's the only founding member still in it, in fact. Eskin, 82, is a survivor. After five months out for cancer treatments, he came back to active duty at Tanglewood on July 6 to play one of his trademark solos, the big, lyrical one in Brahms' Second Piano Concerto. He's also back to doing his pull-ups and sit-ups and hikes up Lenox Mountain to the fire tower, he says. He's tough even when it comes to producing a [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T05:11:08-04:00August 27th, 2014|Categories: Artistic Vision, Interviews, Orchestra|Tags: The Berkshire Eagle, cellist, chamber music, BSO, Piatigorsky, Tanglewood, Jules Eskin, Lenox|

The Swan — by Arnold Steinhardt

When I was eleven years old, my violin teacher assigned me The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns. I had no idea that The Swan was a famous cello solo or that it was part of a much larger work, “The Carnival of the Animals.” I had never even heard of its composer, Saint-Saëns, or seen his name in print before. I wondered why there was a funny line between his two-word last name and what could be the purpose of those strange dots perched on top. And was Saint-Saëns actually a saint? I thought that The Swan was very pretty and probably associated the music’s title with its general mood in some vague way. As a child, I often saw swans gliding regally through the water on the lake near where [...]

By Arnold Steinhardt|2017-09-22T04:04:13-04:00September 10th, 2013|Categories: Artistic Vision, Interpersonal Relationships, Performance, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: discussion, musical essence, Cleveland Institute of Music, violin master-class, music, difference, musicianship, permier music school, Cleveland Orchestra, work, beauty, double major, phrasing alterations, Boston Symphony Orchestra, intonation, essence, respect, piano, creativity, accompany, exceptions, melody, re-evaluate, phrase, assistant concertmaster, phrasing, extended melodies, arpeggios, rocking, artistry, Camille Saint-Saëns, improvement, fiddlers, string quartets, scientists, Beethoven, Carnival of the Animals, Hess, Boston, sections of music, bow, child, ideas, intimate, changes, swaying, vibrato, CIM, Jules Eskin, bow control, The Swan, cello, connections, singing, Mary, musicality, tone production, cellobello, depth|