Cristiani, Lisa (Barbier)

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Cristiani, Lisa (Barbier)

Cristiani, Lisa (Barbier) , famous French cellist; b. Paris, Dec. 24, 1827; d. Tobolsk, 1853. She launched her career at an early age, and soon became renowned via many European tours. Her brilliant renditions of the salon repertory so impressed the King of Denmark that he made her a chamber virtuosa. Her early death was the result of contracting cholera while on a tour of Russia. She played a Stradivari cello of 1720, which instrument still bears her name.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire