Welsh Cellist Kathryn Price has Passed Away

She was an internationally sought-after soloist whose mentors included Lynn Harrell and William Pleeth

Welsh cellist Kathryn Price studied with the internationally renowned cellist Lynn Harrell at the Piatigorsky Studio in Los Angeles and was a student of William Pleeth in London. 

From her acclaimed debuts in the 1990s at London’s Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, she won rave reviews from The New York Times and The LA Times. 

Her debut performances soon saw her travel around the world on concert tours throughout the U.S., Europe, the Far East, and on broadcasts for American and British radio and television, which have recently shown two documentaries featuring Price.

New works were commissioned for Price from arts institutions across Britain and the U.S.; she also gave the world premiere of the George Lloyd Cello Concerto in New York, which was broadcast live.

She was the first person to hold the National Welsh American Foundation Scholarship on both sides of the Atlantic and was an Ambassador of the Arts for Wales. 

Price owned a Gabrieli and Rugeri cello, and played on a bow crafted especially for her by John Stagg.

“Kate Price sparkled as the soloist in Shostakovich’s first concerto,” wrote Jeffrey Kahane of The LA Times in 1998. “She seemed to plumb the depths of this brooding work and attain its intense heights with ease, never forcing her points but making them dead on. Her timing, pacing and inflection were similarly simple and true.”

Our condolences to Ms. Price’s family, friends, and colleagues.