Press Enter to search
Prizewinner at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and SONY Classical exclusive artist, Pablo Ferrández is hailed as a “new cello genius” (Le Figaro). A captivating performer, “Ferrández has the lot: technique, mettle, spirit, authority as a soloist, expressivity and charm” (El Pais).
He has turned into a cello phenomenon and one of the most in-demand instrumentalists of his generation.
His debut album under SONY Classical, “Reflections”, released in 2021, was highly acclaimed by the critics and praised with the Opus Klassik Award. In Fall 2022 Pablo Ferrández released his second album, which comprised the Brahms Double Concerto, performed with Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Czech Philharmonic under M. Honeck, as well as Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio, performed with Ms. Mutter and Lambert Orkis, also receiving rave reviews.
Swiss cellist Samuel Niederhauser was mentored by Matthias Walpen, Cliodhna Ni Aodain and Rebecca Firth before embarking on a bachelor’s degree at Zurich University of the Arts with Thomas Grossenbacher in 2016, graduating with honours in 2020. He then completed his training at the Musik-Akademie Basel with a soloist master’s degree under Thomas Demenga. Samuel receives further inspiration by regularly attending masterclasses with Frans Helmerson, David Geringas, Louise Hopkins, Jens-Peter Maintz and Troels Svane, among others. In addition to various First prizes at national and international competitions, he received the Guy Fallot Prize at the Concours de Genève in 2021, was laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2022 and won Third Prize at the Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki in 2023. Samuel plays a cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore from 1690 thanks to a generous loan.
Jan Sekaci began playing the cello at age of 10 at the High School of Arts in Oradea, Romania. He went on to take part in the Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle de Gautier Capuçon for three consecutive years and is currently studying at the Barenboim-Said Academy with Frans Helmerson. Jan has attended numerous masterclasses with other renowned cellists, including, Valentin Radutiu, Romain Garioud, Raphael Pidoux, Reinhard Latzko, and Jens Peter Maintz. In 2018, he was chosen as an active participant at the Kronberg Academy Masterclasses under Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Jan won First Prize at the 2021 Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria and, as a result, made his debut at Prague’s Smetana Hall playing Dvořák’s cello concerto with the Martinů Philharmonic. Jan plays a cello made around 1850 in Naples.
João Pedro Gonçalves began playing the cello at age 12 under the mentorship of Ana Cláudia Serrão in Lisbon, later continuing his studies with Marco Pereira and Paulo Gaio Lima. João was honoured with the Maestro Silva Pereira Prize as Young Musician of the Year 2020/21 in Portugal. As a soloist, he has collaborated with the Orquestra Gulbenkian, Young Belgian Strings, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, and Orquestra Metropolitana. He is currently pursuing his studies at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling, as well as at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Jeroen Reuling. João performs on a cello crafted by Nicolas Lupot in 1804, which is on loan from the ‘Fonds de dotation Adelus’.
Arne Jesper Zeller began playing the cello at age 6 and has been under the guidance of Peter Bruns at HMT Leipzig since he was 14. He has also been influenced through masterclasses with Ivan Monighetti, Jens Peter Maintz, Jan Vogler, and Frans Helmerson. Throughout his musical journey, he has achieved numerous awards and prizes in both national and international competitions, including, most recently, Second Prize at the international Brahms Competition in Pörtschach. At 13, he made his solo debut with the Rococo-Variations, followed by performances of the Korngold cello concerto with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic. In 2023, he was soloist with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2023. He has performed in solo and chamber music recitals at several festivals, notably the Rheingau Musik Festival, Heidelberger Frühling and the Moritzburg Festival. Arne was a participant in cello masterclasses with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy in 2022 and, two years later was chosen as the youngest ‘Junior’ for Kronberg’s ‘Chamber Music Connects the World” programme.
German cellist Constantin Heise is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Weimar under the tutelage of Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. He reached the Semifinals at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2022) and has graced the stages of international festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the Beethovenfest Bonn. As a soloist, Constantin has collaborated with esteemed orchestras including the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt, Jenaer Philharmonie, and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie. In 2023, he made his orchestral debut with the Berliner Philharmonic. Constantin plays a cello crafted by Dietmar Rexhausen in 2022.
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe is redefining the parameters of the cello. He moves seamlessly across a plethora of genres and styles, from collaborations with world musicians and beatboxers, to concerto performances and solo classical recitals. Abel combines virtuosic performance with improvisation, singing and body percussion, and has a special interest in curating recital programmes that highlight the links between Western and non-Western musical traditions, with view to helping classical music reach a more diverse audience.
In 2016, Abel formed Chesaba – a trio specializing in music from the African continent, including many of his own compositions. He enjoys close collaborations with musicians from a medley of genres, including Bernhard Schimpelsberger, Tim Garland, Seckou Keita, Giovanni Sollima, Famoudou Don Moye and Gwilym Simcock. He has a close partnership with Manchester Collective, with whom he devised the hugely successful Sirocco programme which has been enjoyed both live and digitally by audiences since 2019. In 2020/21, Abel performed at Kings Place, Norfolk & Norwich and Ryedale Festivals, and performed with ensembles including BBC Concert Orchestra at the EFG London Jazz Festival, Manchester Collective and Britten Sinfonia.
Abel made his solo BBC Proms debut in August 2021, curating a programme with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Chesaba and Gnawa Ensemble. Other highlights of the 2021/22 season include a tour with Manchester Collective and Chesaba of their new collaboration, The Oracle; debuts with St Paul Chamber Orchestra and at Stanford Live; and performances both solo and with Chesaba throughout the UK and Europe.
Abel Selaocoe is an exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics and his debut album Where is Home? (Hae Ke Kae) on the subject of home and refuge will be released on Friday 23 September 2022.
Abel completed his International Artist Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music in July 2018. Alongside his numerous awards and recognition throughout the industry, in May 2021, Abel was announced as an inaugural Power Up Music Creator participant in PRS Foundation’s new initiative to address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector.
Jian Wang began to study the cello with his father when he was four. While a student at the Shanghai Conservatoire, he was featured in the celebrated documentary film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. In 1981, at 12 years old, Jian made his professional debut playing the Saint Saens cello concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at the Shanghai Music Hall. In 1985, with Mr Stern’s encouragement, he entered the Yale School of Music under a special programme where he studied with the renowned cellist Aldo Parisot.
As a soloist, Jian Wang has performed with many of the worlds leading orchestras, including Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw orchestra, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, Chicago, Boston and Detroit Symphonies, , London Symphony, the Halle, the BBC orchestras, Zurich Tonhalle, Gothenburg Symphony, Stockholm Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, La Scala, Mahler Chamber, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Czech Philhamonic, and NHK Symphony. These concerts have been with many of the greatest conductors, such as Abbado, Sawallisch, Jarvi, Chailly, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Chung, Gilbert and Gustavo Dudamel. Jian Wang also collaborates frequently with all the major Chinese Orchestras, including Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic, China NCPA orchestra, China National orchestra, Guangzhou, Shenzhen symphony orchestras and Hangzhou Philharmonic. These concerts have been with one of his closest musical partners Long Yu, as well as Muhai Tang, Chen Zuo Huang, Lu Jia, Zhang Guo Yong, Yang Yang, Xu Zhong, Lin Da Ye, Jing Huan and Zhang Jie Ming. Jian Wang was appointed as the first ever Artist in Residence by the China National Center for Performing Arts, also by the Shanghai Symphony orchestra. As a jury member, Jian Wang has judged many of the most important competitions, including the Tchaikovsky cello competition, the Queen Elizabeth cello competition, the Weiniawsky Violin Competition, the Isaac Stern violin competition and the Nielsen violin competition. Jian Wang now serves as the International Chair of the Cello for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He also serves as a member of Artistic committee for the Shanghai Symphony and Hangzhou Philharmonic. Since 2022, Jian Wang is a cello professor at the Shanghai Conservatory.
Jian Wang has made many recordings, his latest releases being the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy. He has also recorded an album of short pieces for Cello and Guitar titled Reverie, the complete Bach Cello Suites and a Baroque Album with the Camerata Salzburg, Brahms Double Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado and Gil Shaham, the Haydn Concerti with the Gulbenkian Orchestra under Muhai Tang, Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (with Myung-Whun Chung, Gil Shaham and Paul Meyer) and Brahms, Mozart and Schumann chamber music with Pires and Dumay. His instrument is graciously loaned to him by the family of the late Mr. Sau-Wing Lam.