Anner Bylsma (born
Anne Bijlsma 17 February 1934,
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
) is a Dutch cellist who plays on both modern and authentic
baroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
style instruments. He took an interest in music from an early age. He studied with
Carel van Boomkamp at the
Royal Conservatory of The HagueThe Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands and one of the leading music institutions in the Netherlands.-The Conservatory:The Conservatory was founded by King William I in 1826...
, and won the
Prix d'excellence in 1957.
In 1959, he won first prize in the Pablo Casals Competition in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Later he was the principal cellist for six years in the
Royal Concertgebouw OrchestraThe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
from 1962 to 1968.
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Anner Bylsma (born
Anne Bijlsma 17 February 1934,
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
) is a Dutch cellist who plays on both modern and authentic
baroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
style instruments. He took an interest in music from an early age. He studied with
Carel van Boomkamp at the
Royal Conservatory of The HagueThe Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands and one of the leading music institutions in the Netherlands.-The Conservatory:The Conservatory was founded by King William I in 1826...
, and won the
Prix d'excellence in 1957.
In 1959, he won first prize in the Pablo Casals Competition in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Later he was the principal cellist for six years in the
Royal Concertgebouw OrchestraThe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
from 1962 to 1968. He became the Erasmus Scholar at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
in 1982. He is the author of the book
Bach, the Fencing Master, a stylistic and aesthetic analysis of
BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's
Cello SuitesThe Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are acclaimed as some of the greatest works ever written for solo cello. They were most likely composed during the period 1717–1723, when Bach served as a Kapellmeister in Cöthen....
. He is one of the pioneers of the 'Dutch Baroque School' and rose to fame as a partner of Frans Bruggen and Gustav Leonhardt, who toured extensively together and made many recordings. Bylsma continues to be a towering figure in the baroque cello movement.
In 1979 Bijlsma recorded the first ever recording of the six Suites for unaccompanied cello (BWV 1007-1012) by J. S. Bach on a period instrument. He also made a second recording of the same music in 1992 on the large "Servais" Stradivarius and on a five-string violoncello piccolo.
Anner Bylsma is married to Dutch violinist Vera Beths.