Anner Bylsma

Anner Bylsma, (1934 - ), is a Dutch cellist, who plays on both modern and authentic baroque style instruments. He was born in The Hague in 1934, where he took an interest in music from an early age. He studied with Carel Boonkamp at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and won the Prix d'excellence in 1957.

In 1959 he won first prize in the Pablo Casals Competition in Mexico. Later he was the principal cellist for six years in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1962 to 1968. He became the Erasmus Scholar at Harvard University in 1982. He is the author of a book, Bach, the fencing master, on the subject of Bach's cello suites.