Draft:David Watkin

Early Life and Education

David Watkin was born on 8 May 1965 in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. His parents, Christine and Ken Watkin, were violin teachers, and his elder brother, Simon, played the viola. He began studying the cello as a child and later joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, where he served as principal cellist. At the age of 15 he won a scholarship to Wells Cathedral School, where he studied with Margaret Moncrieff and Amaryllis Fleming.

He later read music at the University of Cambridge where he was a choral scholar at St Catharine’s College. During this period, he studied cello with William Pleeth and took singing lessons with Kenneth Bowen.^[1]

Performing Career

David Watkin held principal cello positions with several orchestras and period instrument ensembles, including the English Baroque Soloists, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

He co‑founded the Eroica Quartet in 1993, an ensemble specialising in Romantic repertoire performed using historically informed practice. The quartet toured internationally and recorded works by composers including Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schumann.

Watkin appeared as a soloist at venues such as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Barbican Centre, and at festivals such as the Prague Spring Festival. He also appeared in the television documentary series Bach: A Passionate Life presented by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. ^[1][2][3]

Bach Cello Suites and Recordings

Watkin’s 2015 recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello on period instruments won the Gramophone Classical Music Award and the BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Award. The recording was included in Gramophone’s list of the 50 Greatest Bach Recordings. Recorded in the Robin Chapel, Edinburgh, in 2013, Watkin performed Suites 1–5 on a cello by Francesco Rugeri (c. 1670) and Suite 6 on a five-string cello from the Amati workshop (c. 1600), using a baroque bow by John Waterhouse.

His discography also includes recordings of works by Vivaldi, Beethoven, Haydn, Boccherini, and Francis Pott.^[1][4][5]

Teaching and Conducting

Watkin was diagnosed with scleroderma in 2013. Following this, he focused on teaching and conducting. He served as Head of Strings and later Chair of Chamber Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and founded the Continuo Clinic in Edinburgh. ^[1][2][6]

Illness and Death

Watkin continued working as a teacher and conductor following his diagnosis. He died on 13 May 2025, aged 60. He had two sons, Noah and Sandy. At the time of his death, he lived in Glasgow, Scotland, with his partner, Lisi Stockton.^[1][3]

Legacy

Following his death, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland paid tribute to Watkin's work as Head of Strings and Chair of Chamber Music. The Conservatoire referred to his contribution to teaching and his influence on students and colleagues.^[2][6][4]