He is a cellist born in Sheffield,
England, and the son
of Sri Lankan immigrants.He studied the cello from the time
he was eleven in Siena and Florence,
Italy.When he was seventeen he studied
with John Barbirolli in the UK
and with Pablo Casals in Puerto
Rico after having
been awarded the Suggia Prize.Dmitri Mitropoulos, who was greatly
impressed by his playing, invited him to make his debut with the New York
Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall in 1960.He became a member of the Arditti Quartet in 1977 and remained with
them until 2005 until he decided to concentrate on his solo career.His numerous recordings include
works by Rubbra, Vivaldi, Britten, Berio and Xenakis, and he has worked with Kodaly, Poulenc, Walton
and Shostakovich.After a recital
he gave in America
he was presented with a special bow by Piatigorsky.He has been awarded the Deshamaniya, which is a national honour of Sri Lanka, and given an honorary D. Litt. by the University of Peradeniya, Sri
Lanka.
