cello

In 2016, Anner Bijlsma decided to loan his cherished cello—on which he had performed the entire post-Baroque repertoire since around 1963—to the Musical Instrument Fund. He did, however, stipulate that he would have a say in the selection of the first player. That player turned out to be Lidy Blijdorp, with Bijlsma’s full approval. When we first discussed the potential loan with Bijlsma, it already came up that experts could not quite agree on the cello’s exact provenance. Although the cello did contain a label bearing the details of J.F. Pressenda of Turin, there seemed to be a consensus that Pressenda had not, in any case, been the maker. For some time, the cello was attributed to Giuseppe Rocca, Pressenda’s most talented student. But there was insufficient certainty about that either, until Andreas Post (an expert in Amsterdam) received a cello on consignment that was virtually identical to Bijlsma’s cello. The original label in the “twin cello” provided the answer: both cellos turned out to have been built by Celeste Farotti in Milan in the early 20th century. It is known that most of Farotti’s instruments were built based on models by Pressenda and Rocca. Moreover, he was a master copyist, as evidenced by the confusion that arose when determining the identity of Bijlsma’s cello. Bijlsma passed away in 2019. With his passing, the Dutch music world may well have lost its greatest source of inspiration, pioneer, and mentor.
In 2020, Bijlsma’s heirs decided to offer the cello for sale to the Musical Instrument Fund, and in 2021, the Musical Instrument Fund was able to complete the purchase. As a result, this exceptional cello will remain part of the Music Instrument Fund’s collection, thereby benefiting the Dutch music scene.