Anna Shuttleworth

In her memoirs, Anna Shuttleworth describes her musical and personal life, with many insights into cello technique and performance. She also rediscovers her parents' last travel story. Born in 1927, Anna grew up in changing musical and political times. Her father, who worked for the Indian Civil Service, was an expert in classical and oriental languages. Her mother, of Irish-Polish background, provided emotional warmth and a spirited temper. Anna's cello journey started early and took her to study with Ivor James at the Royal College of Music in London, and later to famous cellists such as Mainardi and Casals. Her long cello career gives an account of a warm, hardworking and independent woman who often wore the trousers. As a performer, as well as a highly regarded teacher, she is known to have a musical sixth sense, and she was friendly with many well-known musicians of her time, including Gerald Finzi, Ralph Vaughan Williams (who fondly called her 'The Swellest Cellist'), Colin Davis, Mstislav Rostropovich and Jacqueline du Pré.