The history of how the cello established itself as a solo instrument rather than a supporting role

The cello is a string instrument that attracts attention on today’s concours and stages, but in the past it remained in a supporting role, backing up the bass line. In this article, the news that Korean cellist Kim Taeyeon took second place at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium serves as a starting point to explain how the cello developed into a solo instrument. The cello is larger and heavier than the violin, and it has a deep midtolow register and a wide range. At the beginning of the 18th century, Stradivari established the standard form of the modern cello, and Bach’s Cello Suites for Solo Cello and Beethoven’s cello sonatas are introduced as representative works that expanded the cello’s expressive possibilities. The article says that Vivaldi elevated the cello to a solo instrument by writing several cello concertos, and that in the 19th century, the invention of the endpin made playing posture more comfortable, which also led to more active participation by women performers. It also covers works such as Haydn’s cello concerto, which remained forgotten for a long time before being discovered later, as well as the expansion of the cello repertoire that continued after the 20th century.