# Is it possible to be a professional cellist when we're 12 year old?



## tuxswarm

Hello,

I "accidentally" listen to Saint-Saëns' s first cello concerto and I find it wonderful!
I'm playing violin since I'm 5 and I'm currently playing Bruch' s violin concerto.I practice violin 3h (since March 2019) per day and I've got perfect pitch(may be useful for beginning cello).
I want to know if it's possible to be a professional cellist if I begin to work violincello(I'll surely practice one or two hours per day).
Also is it possible that I arrive to play Saint-Saëns' s cello concerto only with two years of cello?(the answer is probably no)

Cheers


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## wkasimer

tuxswarm said:


> Hello,
> 
> I "accidentally" listen to Saint-Saëns' s first cello concerto and I find it wonderful!
> I'm playing violin since I'm 5 and I'm currently playing Bruch' s violin concerto.I practice violin 3h (since March 2019) per day and I've got perfect pitch(may be useful for beginning cello).
> I want to know if it's possible to be a professional cellist if I begin to work violincello(I'll surely practice one or two hours per day).


Interesting question. I suppose that it will depend on your skill and commitment. Some of your violin skills, particularly related to bow control, will no doubt help, and if you're good enough to play the Bruch concerto, you probably have decent musicianship. A friend of mine recently took up the violin after playing cello for 40 or so years, and picked it up fairly quickly.



> Also is it possible that I arrive to play Saint-Saëns' s cello concerto only with two years of cello?(the answer is probably no)


Hard to say, obviously, without knowing you. But my recollection (from 50 years ago) is that the Saint-Saens is actually one of the easier standard repertoire concerti, so it's possible.

But I do have to ask - why do you want to play the cello instead of the violin? When you're 60, you'll regret that change every time you have to lug that cello up a flight of stairs. I'm actually toying with the idea of switching to viola, in part for that reason, but also because orchestras seem to need violists even more than they need cellists.


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## tuxswarm

To answer wkasimer,

I want to try cello and may become a professional because I find that cello has a rich sound, and that the Concertos for cello are beautiful. There isn't any piece for cello that I heard that I don't like, but, Ravel's tzigane is a piece that I hate (I'm not including the technical difficulties). Dvorak's cello concerto is one my favorite also (and it's also one of the hardest) . I'm also scared that with violin, I can't project my sound.


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## Enthalpy

The best student of my first violin professor, who became herself a professor, started the cello as an adult (and I believe without a professor) after learning the violin and viola. She plays chamber music professionally. So yes, it's feasible. But I don't claim she plays the concerto you target.


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