‘It’s a very versatile instrument as well as a beautiful thing to look at,’ said the cellist in our June 2013 issue

Vuillaume has made a few quartets for aristocratic families and decorated them, so Count Sheremetev’s coat of arms is on the back — and it’s a particularly beautiful one. It shows the Sheremetev Palace in St Petersburg, which still has a musical instrument collection today, and the coat of arms is on the façade and the gate. The translation of the Latin is ‘God looks after everything.’ I find this quite reassuring when it comes to playing a particularly challenging piece of the cello repertoire!

It is unusual among Vuillaume’s cellos because it hasn’t been antiqued in the same way he often did, to make the dark patch on the belly known as a ‘beard’ that makes it look older. He also used excellent, exciting wood, with a fabulous flame that can be seen on the ribs and the front.

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