Robert Lindley
Robert Lindley (4 March 1776 – 13 June 1855) was an English cellist and academic, described as "probably the greatest violoncellist of his time". Life Lindley was born in Rotherham in 1776. His father, an amateur cellist, gave him lessons on the violin from age five, and on the cello from age nine. In 1792 the cellist James Cervetto, impressed by his playing, gave him free tuition. Lindley had an engagement at the theatre in Brighton, and while there played before the Prince Regent. In 1794 he succeeded Sperati as principal cello at Italian Opera in London, and at important concerts; he remained in the post until retirement in 1851. For many years he was a friend of the double-bass player Domenico Dragonetti, who joined the opera orchestra at the same time. Lindley was appointed one of the first professors of the Royal Academy of Music in 1822, the year of its founding. His students included the cellist Charles Lucas, who succeeded him in the opera orchestra. John Alexander Fuller Maitland wrote: "Lindley was probably the greatest violoncellist of his time". William Henry Husk described his playing: "Lindley's tone was remarkable for its purity, richness, mellowness and volume.... His technique,