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Family treasures: Leopold van der Pals

2025-01-10T07:00:00

Van der Pals

At the turn of the millennium, a young Scandinavian cellist discovered he had an illustrious musical forebear. Since then, a treasury of previously unperformed music has come to light. Andrew Mellor speaks to cellist Tobias van der Pals about his great-great-uncle Leopold’s legacy

Imagine – if you even have to – you’re starting out as a freelance string player. As you’re trying to make your way in the profession, to forge some sort of identity, you discover that the great-great-uncle with whom you share a surname was a composer of renown who has been entirely forgotten…

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