Just in: Berlin Philharmonic mourn influential cellist
mainEberhard Finke, one of the founding members of 12 cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic, has died aged 96.
He joined the orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1950 and played until 1985, when he retired.
From 1969, Eberhard Finke taught as a professor at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik.
Are there any musicians still alive who have played under Furtwangler?
Sir Neville Marriner
I vividly recall meeting Professor Finke at Berlin airport some years ago. He was a very gracious, good humored man who told me some amusing and fascinating tales about the various conductors he’d played under. He plays the solo ‘cello part in the third movement of the Brahms second piano concerto in the famous Anda/Karajan recording to beautiful effect and can be seen regularly in the various Karajan videos from the 1970s and ’80s. It was a privilege to meet him.