In Sunday’s (2/1) Post-Dispatch (St. Louis), Sarah Bryan Miller writes about cellist Daniel Lee. “At 11, he became the youngest protégé of famed Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. His parents gave up their home and successful business in Seattle to move to the Philadelphia area so he could attend the Curtis Institute of Music. At 14, he signed a recording contract with Decca. At 21, he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant, just one of many awards and competitions he’s won. At 25, he became principal cello of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Now 29, Lee is an accomplished recitalist and a regular soloist with orchestras from the Northeast to the Far East. Next weekend, he’ll play Edward Elgar’s gorgeous Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85, with his home orchestra. … Lee says he tries to emulate singers in his playing, particularly tenors; the tenor range is ‘the forte register of the cello,’ he says.” He’s had difficulty finding the right instrument, using different cellos for different musical styles. “For the Elgar, Lee will be playing a borrowed instrument that has it all: a Domenico Montagnana, made in Venice in the early 18th century. Yo-Yo Ma plays one; so does Lynn Harrell.”
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