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Since a decisive concert with the Berlin Philharmonic 30 years ago, Alban Gerhardt has never ceased to express an extraordinary musical appetite, even in contemporary creation. He brings research and freshness to a constantly evolving repertoire for an audience that is sometimes far from the concert hall. While his projects have led him to perform in schools and hospitals, the cellist does not hesitate to make transdisciplinarity one of his spearheads, notably through the Love in Fragments project, alongside violist Gergana Gergova, choreographer Sommer Ulrickson and sculptor Alexander Polzin. His recording of Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto for Deutsche Grammophon received the BBC Music Magazine Award. Gehardt plays a Matteo Gofriller from 1710.
Truls Mørk’s compelling performances, combining fierce intensity, integrity and grace, have established him as one of the pre-eminent cellists of our time.
A celebrated artist, Truls Mørk performs with the most distinguished orchestras including the Orchestre de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Concertgebouworkest, Münchner Philharmoniker, Philharmonia and London Philharmonic orchestras and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In North America he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor collaborations include Mariss Jansons, David Zinman, Manfred Honeck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Christoph Eschenbach, amongst others.
A great champion of contemporary music, Truls Mørk has given in excess of 30 premieres. In 2019/20 season he premiered Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ cello concerto Oh Giselle, Remember Me, commissioned by the Swedish Radio Symphony, with whom he was Artist in Residence, Bergen Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony orchestras. He has also given highly successful performances of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s cello concerto, conducted by the composer at the Royal Festival Hall, Lincoln Center and the Festival d’Aix en Provence. In collaboration with Klaus Mäkelä, he performed the Salonen cello concerto with the Philharmonique de Radio France and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Other commissions include Rautavaara’s Towards the Horizon with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and John Storgårds, Pavel Haas’ Cello Concerto with Wiener Philharmoniker and Jonathan Nott, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Concerto for Three Cellos with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Charles Dutoit, Hafliði Hallgrímsson’s Cello Concerto, co-commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony and Scottish Chamber orchestras.
Cellist Leonard Elschenbroich has performed as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras.
He gave his Vienna Musikverein debut on a European Tour with the Staatskapelle Dresden, his US debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, his Asian debut at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and appeared five times at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms.
A committed performer of contemporary music, Elschenbroich has commissioned several new works from composers including Mark-Anthony Turnage, Luca Lombardi, Arlene Sierra and Suzanne Farrin. He gave the world premiere of Mark Simpson’s first Cello Concerto – written for him – with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall, and Brian Elias’ first Cello Concerto at the BBC Proms.
In 2012 he co-founded the Orquesta Filarmonica de Bolivia, the first orchestra to perform a Mahler Symphony in the nation’s history. Elschenbroich returns to Bolivia on a regular basis to lead educational projects and develop the orchestra. This commitment led Elschenbroich to explore the field of conducting with various orchestras across Latin America and the UK. He gave his London conducting debut, leading The Telegraph to write “Elschenbroich gave a performance of Brahms’ 1st Symphony that at times touched the heights.”
Elschenbroich has worked with a number of eminent conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Mark Elder, Charles Dutoit, Manfred Honeck, Kirill Karabits, Dmitri Kitajenko, Andrew Litton, Juanjo Mena, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Vasily Sinasiky, and Edo De Waart. As soloist he has performed with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Royal Liverpool Phiharmonic, Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, Swedish Radio Symphony, Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Residentie Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Pacific Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Elschenbroich’s first three albums for Onyx Classics focused on 20th century Russian repertoire, from Rachmaninov to Schnittke. 2016 saw the release of “Siécle”, a portrait of a century of French music from Saint-Saëns to Dutilleux, recorded with the BBC Scottish Symphony. They have received 5-star reviews from The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Financial Times, as well as receiving Editor’s Choice in Gramophone. This year, after a decade worldwide performances together with Alexei Grynyuk, Onyx Classics released their recording of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas. The album received wide critical acclaim, including Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, Album of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, and is also available on vinyl.
His many awards include the Leonard Bernstein Award, Förderpreis Deutschlandfunk and Borletti Buitoni Trust Award. In 2012 he was named BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, he was Artist-in-Residence of Deutschlandfunk for the 2014-15 season, and Artist-in-Residence at the Philharmonic Society Bremen from 2013-2016.
Born in 1985 in Frankfurt, Elschenbroich received a scholarship, aged ten, to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in London. He later studied with Frans Helmerson at the Cologne Music Academy.
He plays a cello made by Matteo Goffriller “Ex-Leonard Rose-Ex-Alfredo Piatti’ (Venice, 1693), on private loan.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is already in great demand from major orchestras and concert halls worldwide. He became a household name in 2018 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle, his performance having been greeted with universal excitement after being watched by nearly two billion people globally. Sheku initially garnered renown as the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, and subsequently became a Decca Classics recording artist. His latest album, Song, showcases his lyrical playing with a wide selection of arrangements and collaborations. Sheku’s 2020 album Elgar reached No. 8 in the main UK Official Album Chart, making him the first ever cellist to reach the UK Top 10. Sheet music collections of his performance repertoire along with his own arrangements and compositions are published by Faber.
In the 22/23 season, Sheku appears as Artist in Residence with the Philharmonia Orchestra, performing three concerti across the year in addition to chamber music and giving educational workshops. He also performs with orchestras such as the London Mozart Players, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Camerata Salzburg, Hallé Orchestra, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In the Americas, Sheku features as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Boston Symphony, São Paulo Symphony, and on tour with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He also performs his first solo cello recital programme in venues such as Wigmore Hall London, National Concert Hall Dublin, Palau de la Música Catalana Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional de Música Madrid, Musée du Louvre Paris, and De Doelen Rotterdam and returns to the Dortmund Konzerthaus as one of their Junge Wilde artists.
Since his debut in 2017, Sheku has performed every summer at the BBC Proms, including in 2020 when he gave a breath-taking recital performance with his sister, Isata, to an empty auditorium due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He was selected to appear in the coveted role as guest soloist at the 2022 Last Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Hannah Roberts, Sheku was appointed in May 2022 as the Academy’s first Menuhin Visiting Professor of Performance Mentoring. He is an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Future Talent, and Music Masters. Sheku was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List. He plays a Matteo Goffriller cello from 1700 which is on indefinite loan to him.
Spanish cellist Onomeya (Alfredo Ferre) has performed in many of the world’s leading concert halls, including the National Music Auditorium in Madrid, the Shostakovich Hall in St Petersburg and the KKL Luzern, and has collaborated with artists such as Mischa Maisky, Claudio Martínez-Mehner, Sol Gabetta, Lily Francis, and Ettore Causa. After initial studies with Francisco Pastor, Ferre entered the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid to work with Natalia Shakhovskaya and Michal Dmochovsky. He continued his training with Ivan Monighetti and Claudio Martinez Mehner at the Musik Akademie in Basel. In addition to his career as a concert cellist, Ferre explores his creativity in other musical fields, including composition, electronic music production and sound therapy, all under the artistic name Onomeya. He plays a cello on loan from an anonymous patron, probably built by Francesco Gofriller around 1740. Alfredo Ferre attended the Verbier Festival Academy in 2017, where he received the Prix Jean-Nicolas Firmenich, which is awarded each year to an outstanding cellist.
Hungarian cellist Miklós Perényi first studied cello with Miklós Zsámboki, a student of David Popper. In 1963 he became a prizewinner at the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Budapest, after which Casals invited him to his master classes in Puerto Rico in 1965 and 1966. Since then, Perényi has performed around the world with the best orchestras, while one of his closest chamber music partners is the pianist András Schiff. Beyond performing, Perényi also holds a professorship at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, whose faculty he first joined in 1974, and is a composer of works for solo cello and for instrumental ensembles. One recent notable project was his 2020 recording of the six Bach Suites for Hungaroton, made exactly forty years after he first recorded the set. His numerous awards include, in 2014, the Hungarian Artist of the Nation Award.
Of Bulgarian-Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung began studying the cello at the age of three, then leapt to international attention in 2019 as both the first American in four decades and the youngest musician ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division. Fung has since been fast establishing a reputation for boundless virtuosity, exquisite sensitivity and impeccable technique across the repertoire range, and also for his insight into contemporary repertoire. Further awards include a 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant. At the beginning of the 2021/22 season, he made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall. Other season highlights include Bravo! Vail with violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Shai Wosner, and European recital tours performing in cities including Dresden, Ostrava, Rome, Florence and Turin. He plays an W.E. Hill and Sons cello from 1905.
Cellist LiLa began her musical journey at the age of seven under the guidance of Professor Min Cao in Shanghai. In 2016, she transitioned to the Juilliard School Precollege division where she studied with Professors Richard Aaron and Sieun Lin. Since 2018, LiLa has continued her studies at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. She plays a 1690’s Giovanni Grancino Cello on loan through the Beare’s International Violin Society and has received numerous accolades, including first prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Osaka International Music Competition, ‘Antonio Janigro’ International Cello Competition, and the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians. LiLa previously attended the Verbier Festival Academy in 2019 and has collaborated with esteemed orchestras such as Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, Prague Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra Sinfonietta di Roma under conductors including Christoph Eschenbach and Valery Gergiev. As a chamber musician, she has shared the stage with artists including Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, and Gidon Kremer.
From a very young age, Raphaël Merlin displayed an innate desire for diversity in music. Cello, piano, piano-jazz, writing, composition, analysis, conducting, orchestration, chamber music, arrangement, teaching … each of these disciplines generating an intense musical activity.
He began his musical training at the CNR of Clermont and quickly developed a love of polyphony and improvisation, which will naturally lead him to jazz and his first compositions; sometimes escaping from his studies accompanying a choir to the guitar, writing a few songs, infiltrating a big band or even founding a quartet of jazz … Some composition contests later, his first diplomas in conservatory in the bag and 15 years old, he moved to Paris and contracted the virus of orchestra’s conducting. The teachings of Igor Kiritchenko, Xavier Gagnepain and Philippe Müller for the cello, Hortense Cartier-Bresson for chamber music and Janos Komives for the conducting, trained him to interpretation, and he brilliantly completed his studies at the CNSM in Paris in 2005.
Chamber music, initially practiced with his family growing up, occupies a central part in Merlin’s work today. This has intensified since joining the remarkable Quatuor Ebène in 2002. The Quartet garnered a First Prize in 2004 at the international ARD competition in Munich, and now performs regularly throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia in such prestigious venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall in London, Konzerthaus Vienna, , the Library of Congress in Washington, Carnegie Hall in New York, Philharmonie, Châtelet and Champs-Elysées theatres in Paris… The Quartet counts amongst its esteemed advisors Gabor Takacs, Eberhard Feltz, Gyorgy Kurtag and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Musical collaborators have included Mitsuko Uchida, Nicholas Angelich, Menahem Pressler, Natalie Dessay, Renaud Capuçon, Gary Hoffman, Martin Fröst, Michel Portal. The Mirare label produced two discs, devoted to Haydn and Bartok, before the quartet signed an exclusive deal with Virgin Classics (now Erato/Warner) : Debussy, Fauré and Ravel (Gramophone of the year), Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn quartet albums followed, along with several arrangements and self compositions albums : “Fiction”, “Brazil”, “Eternal Stories” (2017). Recently a Schubert record featuring Gautier Capuçon and Matthias Goerne (songs arranged by Raphaël Merlin) received the Choc by Classica and the Edison prize 2016.
The son of a French teacher and enthusiastic former pupil of Xavier Gagnepain, Raphaël is passionate about teaching, and maintains lasting links with his former and current pupils. Regular cello teacher at Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory, he gives regular master classes in chamber music at the CNSM Paris, American Arts Schools in Fontainebleau, at Universities of Stuttgart, Freiburg, Houston and at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Merlin also performs as soloist with the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Orchestra in Moscow, the Massy Orchestra, Sostenuto, Ut 5è, Orchestre d’Auvergne . He recorded Brahms trio, Fauré sonatas and trio, Hersant trio, a tango album “Café 1930”. He remains a prolific arranger of classical, Jazz, Tango, and traditional music arrangements. From 1997 to 2002 he was the pianist in the Wildflower Quartet, and still sometimes plays jazz concerts from the piano.
As a conductor, he has led the Orchestre du Lycée Racine, the Orchestre des lauréats du Conservatoire, the Ostinato orchestra, Opus 93. In 2014, he founded “Les Forces majeures”, a chamber musicians orchestra : this energetic and versatile ensemble (traditional repertoire, contemporary, jazz…) instantaneously got an international success for its Rossini recording (Aparté label) with famous mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes, released in 2016. Concerts with Nicholas Angelich, Edgar Moreau, Sayaka Shoji, Sarah Nemtanu, Inva Mula, Florian Sempey, Amel Brahim-Jelloul, Marc Mauillon… got interest by the French radios such as Radio Classique, who broadcasted live a French program including Fauré’s Requiem at Invalides Cathedral. An album recorded with Les Forces Majeures and cellist Edgar Moreau, including Gulda and Offenbach’s Concertos, was released in December 2018 (Erato / warner classics label). He also recently conducted the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen for the project “Création habitants”, shared with choreographer Alban Richard, director of the CCN de Caen.
In 2011 he received his first commission as a composer, a concerto for string quartet and orchestra, for Cracow and Munich, with the Ebène String Quartet and the Klangforum Mitte Europa. Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt created his duet for violin and cello (2014, Concertgebouw Amsterdam) and a cello and string concerto (Lockenhaus Festival 2016).