Harrell Dungey Cello Loan Competition

The Story Behind The Harrell Dungey Cello - By Christopher Dungey

I first met Lynn Harrell in the summer of 2006 at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, WY. Lynn was scheduled to perform the Elgar Concerto — one of my all-time favorite cello pieces — on his antique Montagnana cello. It hadn’t been since my time in London that I had access to some of the great master cellos, so I was excited about the chance to see one in person again. 

I had been attending the music festival for years and knew several of the musicians in the orchestra, so during the rehearsal break, I went backstage to try and find Lynn and see his cello. He was sitting quietly in a practice room, so I went up and introduced myself and asked to see his cello. It wasn’t until I was about to leave that he asked if I had one of my cellos with me. 

At the time, I lived in southeastern Idaho — just a few hours drive from Jackson Hole — and only brought my just-completed cello on a whim. One of my colleagues/friends was in the orchestra and played the rehearsal on my cello, but none of the other cellists seemed that interested to test it out — until Lynn started playing it backstage. I stood by and quietly chuckled to see how the cellists gathered around Lynn and showed a sudden newfound interest in my instrument. I was still surprised and pleased that Lynn had been interested in my work, and left to drive back home to Idaho contentedly. A few months would pass until I next heard from Lynn. 

When I heard from him next, it was in a voicemail where he introduced himself again and spelled his name — as if I could forget who he was. In his message, he talked about wanting to commission a dimensional copy of his antique Montagnana. I listened to the message again and again; I couldn’t believe that the great cellist Lynn Harrell was interested in my work! That voicemail led to the creation of what would become his 2008 Dungey cello. 

We met again in the summer of 2007, and by this time discussions about his cello commission were well underway. We talked about the dimensions and his current Montagnana and how I would be able to replicate that shape with my own cello. He looked at wood samples and evaluated design measurements. I had selected two wood samples for his new cello — one was a traditional two-piece maple back that would be similar to his Montagnana. The other piece was more unusual — it had wilder-looking flames and would be a solid one-piece maple back — a definite departure from his Montagnana’s aesthetic. To my surprise, he picked the one-piece back, saying it reminded him of a famous Turner landscape painting from the 1800s. Afterward, I went home and looked up the artist in order to understand Lynn’s wood choice. 

It was February of 2008 when I drove to Los Angeles to deliver my dimensional copy of Lynn’s Montagnana cello. My own anxiety about his reception to the instrument was nothing compared to Lynn’s excitement — he was like a kid in a candy shop and couldn’t open the cello case fast enough. 

He played his new cello and then played it some more. I waited anxiously for his review, certain that he was just playing more to avoid telling me that he was disappointed. It wasn’t until he turned to me in amazement and said “This is a monster cello” that I knew he was happy with the result. But before I could even say anything, he returned to playing — this time even more aggressively, and in astonishment that a new cello could sound this good on day one. 

It would be a few months until I would next hear from Lynn. This time, he called to inform me that his new Dungey cello had completely overtaken his Montagnana and would become his primary cello voice. From that day on, he never returned to his Montagnana for a performance. 

And so began my friendship with Lynn — a relationship that would last until he passed in the spring of 2020. He would call to check-in periodically and learn about what I was working on. He always wanted to see my latest project, learn who was getting which cello commission and see what the wood selection looked like. Even when he was on the road touring, he would call to ask if there were any other Dungey cellos owners nearby. We had even recently begun to discuss the possibility of him commissioning a second cello based on a larger pattern than his 2008 model. Lynn was always eager to learn about more of my work, and to continue to grow his own playing. 

The Dungey cello that is now part of Lynn Harrell’s estate was the only cello that he would tour and perform on until he passed on April 27th, 2020.