‘The Swan’ from Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals is one of the best known works for cello. The lyrical opening notes glide us into a sublime melody that’s accompanied by gently swirling quavers in ...

The swan of the title is of 300-year-old cello, Stradivarius ... They want to have a relationship with it. What about that part of the story? Is that true to life? DELBANCO: Well, it was true ...