Leslie Parnas

Leslie Parnas (November 11, 1931 – February 1, 2022) was an American classical cellist. A prize winner at several international music competitions, he appeared as a soloist with orchestras around the world and performed and recorded a number of chamber works. His playing has been described as "characterized by a sure technique and an aggressive approach to phrasing". For a number of years, he taught at the Boston University School of Music.

Early life Born to Ely and Etta Parnas in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1931, Leslie Parnas was one of several musically gifted siblings. At 14 he made his solo debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,

After he shared second prize in the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1962, In 1969, he became a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with which he frequently performed and recorded.

From 1963 to 2013, Parnas was on the faculty of the Boston University School of Music. After retiring, he moved to a rehabilitation facility in Florida, where he died on February 1, 2022, at the age of 90.

Instrument After he acquired it in 1955, Parnas's principal instrument was the "Rosette" cello made by Matteo Goffriller in 1698.

Partial discography Beethoven: Triple Concerto (with Rudolf Serkin, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; Marlboro Festival Orchestra, Alexander Schneider, cond.), Columbia Masterworks MS 6564 (1964) Schubert: "Trout" Quintet (with Rudolf Serkin, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; Philipp Naegele, viola; Julius Levine, bass), Columbia Masterworks MS 7067 (1967) Brahms: Piano Quartets, Complete (with Alexander Schneider, violin; Walter Trampler, viola; Stephanie Brown, piano), Vanguard VSD 71221, 71222 (1978) J. S. Bach and sons: Trio Sonatas (with Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Isaac Stern, violin; John Steele Ritter, fortepiano and harpsichord), CBS Masterworks IM 37813 (1983) Beethoven: Archduke Trio (with Claude Frank, piano; Emanuel Borok, violin), SQN Cassettes & Records 79005-1 (1983) Kabalevsky, Hindemith, Shostakovich: Works for Cello and Piano (with Malcolm Frager, piano), Arcadia ARC 25-002 (1991) Ravel, Kodály, Martinů: Works for Violin and Cello (with Josef Suk, violin), Arcadia ARC 2007-2 (1997) Porpora, Reger, Yun, Dohnányi: Works for Cello and Piano (with Wonmi Kim, piano), Arcadia ARC 1998-2 (1998) Dvorak: Cello Concerto; Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme (with KBS Symphony Orchestra, Othmar Mága cond.), Arcadia ARC 2008-2 (2008)