29 Facts About Daniil Shafran

Daniil Borisovich Shafran was a Soviet Russian cellist.

Daniil Shafran was born in Petrograd in 1923 to a Jewish family.

Daniil Shafran's father, Boris Shafran, went on to be principal cellist of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and his mother, Frida Moiseyevna, was a pianist.

Daniil Shafran recounted how, as his mother went into labour, his father was practicing passages from Haydn's D major Concerto in preparation for a recital, and was reluctant to go to the hospital until he had mastered a difficult technical passage.

Daniil Shafran's father was a serious musician and strict teacher and after year and a half under his tutelage, Shafran had absorbed many of the values that he held throughout his life: diligent and regular practice and the importance of striving for the highest goals.

Daniil Shafran remained with Shtrimer for more than ten years.

Daniil Shafran's orchestral debut was a year later, when 11, when he played Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the visiting British conductor, Albert Coates.

At the age of 14, Daniil Shafran entered the 1937 USSR All-Union Competition for Violinists and Cellists, for young musicians from all Soviet states.

Daniil Shafran was awarded a magnificent Antonio Amati cello as part of the prize.

When Daniil Shafran graduated from the Conservatory in 1950, he was now 27 years old, and Rostropovich 23.

Daniil Shafran pursued a career as soloist and recorded very widely.

Daniil Shafran's repertoire included the major concertos, music for cello and piano, and the solo cello repertoire.

Daniil Shafran sought to enrich the cello repertoire, and made and performed transcriptions of works for other instruments.

In 1950, Daniil Shafran moved to Moscow, separating him from his family and his teacher on whom he had depended for so long - an event which caused him an artistic crisis.

Daniil Shafran's first recording, at age 14, was of the Rococo Variations.

Kabalevsky was sufficiently impressed that he dedicated his Second Cello Concerto to Daniil Shafran, who gave the premiere and made the first recording in 1965.

Daniil Shafran made a number of concert tours and recordings together with his first wife, pianist Nina Musinian.

Daniil Shafran had a poetic and sincere way of performing music.

Daniil Shafran felt fingering should not be rigid or dogmatic, but must be subordinated to bringing out the content and expressiveness of a work.

Daniil Shafran used the thumb and fourth finger extensively, throughout the compass of the cello, and his large hand combined with the diminutive Amati cello that he always played allowed him to make very large stretches and play octaves between thumb and 3rd finger, and 1st and 4th fingers.

Daniil Shafran achieved a very light staccato and spiccato, and he made his beautiful silvery sound using the bow at the tip far more than most cellists and liked the hair to be on the loose side.

Daniil Shafran's bowing appeared rather like a violinist, very light and without effort, yet at the same time very intense.

Daniil Shafran rehearsed in full concert dress, perched at the front of an unusually high chair, positioned on a little raised platform, and played with his eyes closed.

At a time in which, thanks to various media, musical styles are converging, Daniil Shafran's voice remained apart.

Daniil Shafran was a great cellist, with a distinctive tone, but whenever he played, you always had the impression that he was thinking only of the moment when he would have an interesting high note that he could hold on to and produce an attractive sound.

Daniil Shafran formed an unbreakable bond with the Antonio Amati cello that he won at the age of 14, and always played on it.

Daniil Shafran, who was known for his sometimes remarkably individual fingerings, denied that they would only work for his hand and on a cello of this size: "Any cellist with a normal stretch can use my fingerings on a standard sized cello, though they would, of course, be more difficult for a cellist with a small finger stretch".

Daniil Shafran died in Moscow on February 7,1997, aged 74.

In September 1997, his widow, Svetlana Daniil Shafran, donated the Amati cello to the Glinka Museum.