Cello moments (Jun 30, 2022)
Summer music festivals
Following last month's feature of open-air performances, join us this time for a showcase of summer stars at three music festivals in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Belgium! First, we start with François Salque performing Debussy's Cello Sonata with François-Xavier Poizat at the Festival Puplinge Classique in August 2018. Next is Maja Bogdanovic (nominee of our 7th Listeners' Choice Award) playing Pēteris Vasks' "Grāmata čellam / Das Buch" in August 2019 at the Stiftfestival in the presence of the composer. And finally is the Maisky Trio performing Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in July 2020 at the Klassiek Leeft Meesterlijk.
Photo: An outdoor concert, courtesy of Stiftfestival.
Cello moments (Jun 1, 2022)
Open-air performances
Welcome June! Before heading outdoors to enjoy the nice weather, join us to watch three videos of open-air performances in a nature reserve, a working sheep and cattle ranch, as well as busy bustling streets of New York City! First, we start at one of the seven Wonderfeel stages of the 2019 festival with Rosanne Philippens and Lidy Blijdorp playing Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello. Next, we stop by the Domo—one of the monumental sculptures at Tippet Rise merging land art, sculpture and concert space—for Du Yun's "The Veronica" performed by Matt Haimovitz. And finally, we follow Anthony Roth Costanzo's NY Phil Bandwagon for a series of pull-up concerts around NYC showcasing the new commission—Carlos Simon's "loop"—played by Yulia Ziskel, Cynthia Phelps and Sumire Kudo of the New York Philharmonic.
Photo: A beautiful day at an outdoor plaza in London.
Cello moments (May 2, 2022)
Museum performances
In celebration of International Museum Day on May 18, join us for a special feature of three recent performances at museums in Germany, U.S., and the Netherlands! First, we start at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich with our 8th Listeners' Choice Award nominee Raphaela Gromes playing a solo cello piece, "Memories", written by her late father Wilhelm Gromes (1960–2019). Next from Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia is the Philadelphia Orchestra's "Our City, Your Orchestra" series featuring cellist Hai-Ye Ni performing Barber's Cello Sonata (1st movement) with pianist Natalie Zhu. And finally, we head to the Mauritshuis in The Hague to watch violinist Tosca Opdam and cellist Anton Mecht Spronk playing Schulhoff's "Zingaresca" (from his Duo for violin and cello) as part of the 2022 "Miniatures" series celebrating 200 years since the Mauritshuis first opened its doors as a museum.
Photo: Inside the Mauritshuis, by Henk Monster / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons.
Cello moments (Mar 31, 2022)
Music of peace
Amid ongoing talks between world leaders in hope of a ceasefire and restoration of peace, join us to watch three filmed performances of music of peace featuring the cello. Let's start from Copenhagen for Per Nørgård's concerto "Remembering Child"—in memory of 13-year-old American peace activist Samantha Smith—adapted for cello and premiered by Jakob Kullberg (nominee of our 10th Listeners' Choice Award) with Athelas & Aarhus Sinfonietta conducted by Pierre-André Valade. Next is "Benedictus" from Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace" in a historic performance in Berlin conducted by the composer himself with cellist Valentino Worlitzsch, the World Orchestra for Peace and the World Choir for Peace. And finally to Paris is Olivier Calmel's cello concerto "Rite of Peace" premiered by Xavier Phillips with La Philharmonie du COGE conducted by Aurélien Azan Zielinski.
Cello moments (Mar 5, 2022)
International Women's Day
International Women's Day is coming up on Mar 8 so join us for a celebration in honor of three leading cellists. First, we start with Sol Gabetta performing Saint-Saëns' Concerto No. 1 at the 2021 Nobel Prize concert with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra last December conducted by Ryan Bancroft. Next is Alisa Weilerstein featured in the fourth Philharmonia Sessions premiered in November 2020 playing Dvořák's Rondo with the Philharmonia conducted by Jakub Hrůša. And finally is Harriet Krijgh with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra performing Haydn's Concerto No. 1 in a September 2017 concert at the Concertgebouw.
Cello moments (Feb 2, 2022)
Music couples for Feb 14
In celebration of Valentine's Day on Feb 14, join us for a special feature as we shine the spotlight on three music couples! First, we start at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York with Jan Vogler and Mira Wang performing Hanns Eisler's Duo for violin and cello op. 7/1 in Nov 2021. Next from Cologne, Germany is Oren Shevlin and Mariko Ashikawa playing Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise" on cello and piano in Apr 2020 for the chamber music series "WDR Funkhausmusik". And finally to Australia, let's watch an ABC Classic live in-studio presentation of Slava and Sharon Grigoryan performing a special rendition of Mark Summer's "Julie-O" on cello and guitar in 2019.
Cello moments (Jan 2, 2022)
LCA all-star celebration
To start off the new year and our 10th annual Listeners' Choice Award, join us for our LCA all-star celebration of three recent concerto performances! First up is Alexander Ramm (winner of our 7th Listeners' Choice Award) performing Myaskovsky's Cello Concerto last June in Moscow at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall with Vladimir Jurowski conducting the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra. Next is Raphaela Gromes (nominee of our 8th Listeners' Choice Award) playing "Les Larmes de Jacqueline" from her 2019 "Offenbach" CD in a festive open-air concert of Landesregierung NRW last August at Schloss Nordkirchen with Nabil Shehata conducting Philharmonie Südwestfalen. And finally is Amit Peled (nominee of our 1st Listeners' Choice Award) performing Haydn's Cello Concerto No 1 with the Mount Vernon Virtuosi last May at the Chrysalis—an amphitheater at Symphony Woods—in Columbia, MD.
Image: Celebrating our 1st to 9th Listeners' Choice Award winners and nominees.
Cello moments (Dec 2, 2021)
Saint-Saëns centenary
In commemoration of the centenary of Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) on Dec 16, join us for a special feature of his music. First, we start with his Cello Concerto No. 1 (Op. 33) performed by Gautier Capuçon in Feb 2020 at the Alte Oper Frankfurt with Alain Altinoglu conducting the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Next is "The Swan" from his "Carnival of the Animals" played by Joseph Johnson (nominee of our 1st Listeners' Choice Award) with harpist Heidi Elise Bearcroft in Jun 2019 in Toronto at a Zoomer Hall Concert presented by The New Classical FM. And finally to Budapest is his Cello Sonata No. 2 (Op. 123) performed by Vashti Hunter in Jun 2021 with pianist Zoltán Fejérvári at the Budapest Music Center.
Image: Saint-Saëns performing at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 1896 celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Salle Pleyel debut.
Cello moments (Nov 2, 2021)
Young talent showcase
World Children's Day, also known as Universal Children's Day, is on Nov 20 so join us for the celebration for three recent videos showcasing young talents in the U.S., the Netherlands, and South Korea! First, we start with 12-year-old cellist Starla Breshears performing Bach's Cello Suite No. 6 (Prelude) with dancer Ron "Prime Tyme" Myles in a 2020 production of Festival Napa Valley. Next is 14-year-old cellist Thomas Prechal playing his own composition "Lenian's Lento" on NPO2's Podium Witteman in 2019 with pianist Natasja Douma. And finally is cellist Jaemin Han, just a few days before his 15th birthday, performing Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 at the 2021 Music in PyeongChang Winter Festival with Ensemble the Bridge conducted by Woong Cha.
Cello moments (Sep 30, 2021)
Alexander Zemlinsky @ 150
The 150th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky is coming up on Oct 14 so join us for a celebration of his music! First, from Fundación Juan March in Madrid, cellist Anssi Karttunen and pianist Nicolas Hodges perform Zemlinsky's Cello Sonata in A minor. Next, featured on the music program "De Tafel van Tjako" of Dutch broadcaster RTi Hilversum, cellist Larissa Groeneveld and pianist Frank van de Laar play "Tarantella" from Zemlinsky's Three Pieces for Cello and Piano. And finally to New York for a concert of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, clarinetist David Shifrin alongside cellist Keith Robinson and pianist Wu Qian perform Zemlinsky's Trio in D minor.
Image: Alexander Zemlinsky and Arnold Schönberg in Prague, 1917.
Cello moments (Sep 1, 2021)
Inspired by literature
Following our last year's celebration of International Literacy Day (Sep 8), join us this time for three concertos inspired by literature! First, we start with Zhou Long's "Tipsy Poet"—a playful musical depiction based on Du Fu's poem "Song of Eight Unruly Tipsy Poets"—played by cellist Jan Vogler with the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru. Next is Pascal Dusapin's double concerto "At Swim-Two-Birds"—inspired by the formal and narrative extravagance of Flann O'Brien's metafiction "At Swim-Two-Birds"—performed by violinist Viktoria Mullova and cellist Matthew Barley with the Orchestre National de France conducted by Pascal Rophé. And finally, let's watch Kaija Saariaho's "Notes on Light"—a journey towards the heart of light inspired by T. S. Eliot's poem "The Waste Land"—played by cellist Hillel Zori with the Israel Contemporary Players conducted by Franck Ollu.
Image: "The Bookworm" by Carl Spitzweg, circa 1850.
