<p>The Great Cellists is a comprehensive and authoritative history of the lives and work of the cello's great performers and teachers, from the emergence of the solo instrument in the seventeenth century to the present day.<br><br><br>In its early history, the cello was a genuine 'bass' violin that came in three sizes and from the thirteenth century was played side by side with viols and later violins. The instrument we know today ...