Robert Lindley

Robert Lindley (4 March 1776 – 13 June 1855)

f.l.t.r. Dragonetti, Lindley, and perhaps Charles Lucas in a daguerreotype of 1841 In 1794 he succeeded Sperati as principal cello at Italian Opera in London, and at important concerts; he remained in the post until retirement in 1851. For many years he was a friend of the double-bass player Domenico Dragonetti, who joined the opera orchestra at the same time.

John Alexander Fuller Maitland wrote: "Lindley was probably the greatest violoncellist of his time".

Family His son William Lindley (1802–1869) also became a cellist; because of nervousness he did not fulfill his early promise, and withdrew from public performance. His daughter married the composer John Barnett in 1837.

Compositions Works include four cello concertos, thirty-five solos and duets for cello, a trio for bassoon, viola, and cello, Caprice Bohème for piano, and a handbook for the cello published in the year of his death.

William Henry Husk noted that "his composition was by no means equal to his execution".