He studied
cello with his father, renowned cellist
William Pleeth, at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he was the Gold Medallist in 1966. He made his first recording for the
BBC at the age of 13. He was a founder of the Galliard Trio (with
Trevor Pinnock,
harpsichord and
Stephen Preston,
flute), with which he performed from 1965 to its disbanding in 1972. He was the principal cellist of
The Academy of Ancient Music, and later of
The English Concert, leaving in 1985, but remaining a member of the English Concert Chamber Group until 1991. His recordings have included cello concertos by
Vivaldi with The English Concert and The Academy of Ancient Music as well as being the cello soloist in many orchestral pieces and concerti grossi with these two orchestras. He has recorded the complete cello sonatas of Geminiani and Marcello (with Christopher Hogwood and Richard Webb,) and
Vivaldi (with Robert Woolley and Suki Towb), trio sonatas by
Handel and
Corelli and chamber music by
J. C. Bach with the English Concert Chamber Group. With
fortepianist Melvyn Tan, he recorded
Beethoven's complete sonatas and variations for
cello and piano. His musical interests are not limited to period performance; he plays modern cello and his cello ensemble has performed and recorded
Bachianas Brasileiras 1 and 5. He was appointed professor of cello at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 1969 and at the
Royal College of Music in 1986. Aside from Classical appearances, he has also been on many film soundtracks, such as
We Were Soldiers by
Nick Glennie-Smith,
Gladiator by
Hans Zimmer and
Lisa Gerrard and
Tron: Legacy by
Daft Punk. ==References==