The respected musician had been forced to give up his playing career due to an auto-immune condition
The renowned British cellist, pedagogue and conductor David Watkin has died aged 60, according to an announcement made by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), where he was head of strings and, latterly, professor of chamber music. Since 2013, he had been battling scleroderma, a chronic auto-immune condition that had forced him to give up his active playing career.
A highly respected soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader, Watkin had been principal cello with such leading ensembles as the English Baroque Soloists, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Philharmonia Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
He made numerous recordings including the complete Bach Cello Suites, released in 2015 on the Resonus label, which was highly praised and won several awards and accolades including ‘The Strad Recommends’ in the August 2015 edition of the magazine. He played the first five suites on a 1670 Rugeri and the sixth on a five-string 1600 Amati.
Watkin read music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar, while studying the cello privately with William Pleeth. He was a finalist in the Shell/LSO competition for young musicians, and was principal cello in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, where he was awarded the Arthur Bulgin Medal.
As a conductor he led ensembles including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Malta Philharmonic, the Swedish Baroque Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music and the Manchester Consort. He was also assistant conductor at Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
The RCS commented that Watkin was ‘one of the finest cellists of his generation – a master soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader and conductor. We have all been privileged to work with and learn from David.’
He is survived by his two sons.
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