Nelsova, Zara, 1918-2002 : A cellist and teacher born in Winnipeg, Zara Nelsova began studying music with her father, a flautist and a graduate of the Petrograd Conservatory, and with Dezsö Mahalek from 1924 to 1928. She performed in concert starting at a very young age, forming the Nelson Trio with her older sisters, pianist Anne and violinist Ida. This group received high praise for its performance at the 1926 Manitoba Music Competition Festival. In order to provide the girls with exceptional musical training, the family moved to England in 1928. As the Canadian Trio, the group performed at Wigmore Hall during the 1928-1929 season and remained active until 1939. At age 12, Zara Nelsova made her début in Lalo's Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra; the following year, she performed Tchaikovsky's Roccoco Variations. She never stopped learning, perfecting her art with well-known musicians such as Herbert Walenn, Emanuel Feuermann, Gregor Piatigorsky and Pablo Casals.
Returning to Canada in 1939, Nelsova became principal cello of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (a position she occupied from 1940 to 1943) and, with Kathleen Parlow and Sir Ernest MacMillan, formed a new Canadian Trio that was to last only a few years. A sought-after performer, she played with numerous orchestras worldwide, working with internationally-known conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Metha, Mstislav Rostropovich, Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez and Georg Solti. A number of composers asked her to perform their works, including Samuel Barber (Concerto for Cello), Ernest Bloch (Schelomo) and William Walton (Concerto for Cello). In 1976, she helped create Capriccio Concertante by Canadian composer Robert Turner, a work dedicated to her and to pianist Grant Johannesen.
In addition to teaching at the Toronto Conservatory of Music in the early 1940s, Zara Nelsova also taught at the Juilliard School in 1962 and at Rutgers University. As well, she gave master classes at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (1986) and at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music (1990). She was awarded Canada's Centennial Medal, as well as an honorary doctorate from Smith College in 1992.
