There's Something about the 'Cello: a Proms Interval Talk
(11th Aug 2011)

Listen again (thru the internet) to the discussion on the link below (until 18th Aug)

For ceramics expert Lars Tharp it was a choice between studying the ‘cello or archaeology. To the benefit of Antiques Road Show viewers, and to the Eternal loss of the music audience, he chose archaeology

Ever since, he's been struck by how often people comment, 'I wish I'd played the ‘cello', with a yearning rarely displayed in connection with other instruments. Is it because its range and tone is closer to the human voice than any other instrument, or is it the heartstring-tugging repertoire that's grown up around it? Or is it something...."primal"?

Lars seeks the answer in the company of Julian Lloyd Webber who, immediately after the interval, will be playing a newly re-discovered piece for the ‘cello, Invocation, by Gustav Holst, followed by Elgar's universally-acclaimed Enigma Variations. And Graham Fitkin, whose newly composed ‘Cello Concerto for Yo-Yo Ma will be premiered in Prom 61 on 31 August, discusses the merits of the ‘cello and the problems it poses for the composer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0132pkp/Twenty_Minutes_Theres_Something_about_the_Cello/