Here is our selection of the greatest pieces ever written for cello and orchestra. Do you agree?

By Charlotte Smith

Published: Wednesday, 05 July 2023 at 12:00 am


Unlike its smaller cousin the violin, the cello’s lower register has to fight a little harder to be heard above the sound of a mighty symphony orchestra.

However, the instrument’s gorgeous, soulful sound has still proven irresistible to composers, who have valiantly taken up the challenge with some glorious results.

Here are ten of the very best concertos written for cello and orchestra…

The best cello concertos of all time

Elgar: Cello Concerto

Perhaps the most famous of all works for the cello, and immortalised in the dramatic, highly charged performances of Jacqueline du Pré, Elgar’s Cello Concerto was composed following the First World War. Contemplative and melancholic, the four-movement work was first recorded by Beatrice Harrison under the composer himself, but it was not until Du Pré’s 1965 recording with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli that the work found popularity.

It has since been recorded and performed in concert by most of the world’s leading cellists – though Mstislav Rostropovich stopped performing the concerto on hearing Du Pré’s recording, saying: ‘My pupil, Jacqueline du Pré, played it much better than I.’ And indeed, we put du Pré’s recording with the London Symphony Orchestra and John Barbirolli top of our list of Elgar Cello Concerto best recordings.

Elgar Cello Concerto: Recommended recording

du Pré / London Symphony Orchestra / John Barbirolli