Obituaries : Andre Navarra; Distinguished Cellist

Andre Navarra, the distinguished cellist known for his versatility and scholarship, died Sunday of a heart attack at the age of 77, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. Navarra, whose repertoire ranged from Bach to contemporary music, died Sunday at a hotel in Siena, Italy, said a spokesman for the Academia Chigiana della Musica there.

A professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, Navarra had taught advanced music courses at Chigiana since 1954.

Navarra began his cello studies at the Toulouse Conservatory at the age of 9. At 15 he entered the National Academy of Music in Paris and a year later was awarded the institution’s highest prize. After winning the International Competition for Violincellists in Vienna, he began appearing with major orchestras in Europe, the Soviet Union, the Far East and Latin America.

He also taught regularly in such disparate places as the Conservatoire Nationale de Musique in Paris and USC, where in 1983 he was one of three master teachers at the annual Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists.

Navarra performed and recorded a wide range of compositions. Throughout his career he was closely associated with Edward Elgar’s cello concerto, recording it as early as 1957.

The French state-run classical music radio network France-Musique said it would broadcast a special program Thursday on Navarra, including homages from other musicians and several of his best-known recordings.