Gregor Piatigorsky was the cellist for the "Million Dollar Trio"
Piatigorsky regularly played chamber music with Arthur Rubinstein (piano), and Jascha Heifetz (violin), who together were known as the "Million Dollar Trio."
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The Argument
The Million Dollar Trio was a group of extraordinary musicians that formed in 1949. They performed together in a small series of concerts before disbanding in 1950.[1]
Gregor Piatigorsky was the sole cellist in this trio. Critics regarded him as the most talented musician of the group. Ivan Galamian, a famous violinist and teacher, even called Piatigorsky "the greatest string player of all time." Being a part of this outstanding group and garnering such praise from Galamian prove that Piatigorsky was the greatest cellist of all time.
Counter arguments
While the "Million Dollar Trio" was an incredible ensemble, it was so short-lived that it is hard to accurately assess and compare this group of musicians to others. For this reason, we cannot argue that Piatigorsky is the greatest cellist of all time because of his membership in this group.
Furthermore, Piatigorsky was only a part of this ensemble--he contributed to its excellence but was not solely responsible for it. We cannot argue for his excellence based on the group's collective talent. Instead, we must assess Piatigorsky's talent alone.
Proponents
Premises
[P1] Piatigorsky was a member of the "Million Dollar Trio" an extremely talented musical group.
[P2] Galamian called Piatigorsky "the greatest string player of all time" because of his contributions to this group.
[P3] For these reasons, Piatigorsky is the greatest cellist of all time.