‘We could all do with being a little less vain’: Tanja Tetzlaff’s life lessons

I was 16 when I first met Heinrich Schiff. I recall playing Bach’s Second Suite for him and he immediately started showing me how an open string could sound. The open, ringing tone was the way he approached every note, and it opened up a completely new horizon for me. You don’t need to add the big vibrato or dynamics at first – just listen to how beautiful the pure sound of the cello can be…