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Cellist Zara Nelsova: A sound from a dream

2025-03-07T08:45:00

ZN cr Margaret Campbell

The Canadian-born cellist Zara Nelsova was a fierce advocate for the repertoire she loved and for four decades an inspirational teacher at the Juilliard School. Oskar Falta explores her life and remarkable career, and hears from some of the musicians who studied with her

‘When I was ten years old, I had a dream. It was that I had gone to a concert, but when I arrived, there were no seats available, so I stood at the back. On the stage was a female figure in a flowing white garment, sitting on a podium and playing the cello. The sound of her cello that I heard in my dream is the sound I have tried to recreate all my life…’ 

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