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| Cello |
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| Steven Isserlis |
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Steven Isserlis, Cello |
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Steven Isserlis is a cellist whose passion for music transcends conventional divisions. Acclaimed worldwide for his musicality and technique alike, he is equally at home drawing the audience into his circle of friends for chamber music or in recital; delving into the historical archives to emerge with a forgotten gem; or on the concert platform with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras and conductors.
Recent concerto engagements have taken British-born Isserlis to some of
the world's greatest orchestras, including most recently the Boston, Dallas
and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Philadelphia
and Philharmonia Orchestras. He also enjoys regular collaborations with
conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sakari Oramo, Sir Colin Davis, Ton
Koopman and Christoph Eschenbach. Isserlis's interest in period instruments
has led to performances with original instrument orchestras such as the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music under
Christopher Hogwood and L'Orchestre des Champs-Elysées under Philippe
Herrweghe. Last season he performed all Beethoven's works for cello with
fortepianist Robert Levin in Boston.
Highlights of the current season include concerts with the Tokyo Symphony
Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, a German
tour with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Harding, a tour of
the Far East with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Iván
Fischer, and London appearances with the Philharmonia and London Philharmonic
orchestras. Isserlis also works twice this season with the Rotterdam Philharmonic,
on one occasion joining Ida Haendel and Martha Argerich for a performance
of Beethoven's Triple Concerto.
The chamber concerts of Isserlis' devising are renowned, not only for the
quality of performance, but also for his ingenuity and innovation in programming.
Projects in the past few seasons have included a Taneyev and Friends series
at the Wigmore Hall, a Brahms series at the Salzburg Festival, a festival
entitled ‘Sleeping Beauties’ with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and
music by Brahms, Dvorak and Frühling in London, Berlin and Vienna.
In Spring 2004, Isserlis was Artistic Director of a highly-acclaimed festival
in London dedicated to the music of Saint-Saëns, which took place
at the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Academy of Music and with the English Chamber
Orchestra at the Barbican Centre Isserlis also regularly gives recitals;
his performances this season include recitals with Stephen Hough in the
UK, Dublin, Belgrade and Milan and solo Bach recitals in Bath and Madrid.
He also gives a recital entitled ‘Schuber's Vienna’ with Denes Varjon
at the Wigmore Hall, where later in the season he plays chamber music by
Schubert with Joshua Bell and others. With Ana-Maria Vera, he gives his
New York recital debut, for the ‘Distinguished Artists in Recital’ series
at the 92nd St Y.
Steven Isserlis is a keen exponent of contemporary music. He has had a long collaboration with Sir John Tavener, whose work for cello and orchestra ‘The Protecting Veil’ was written for and first recorded by Isserlis. Other composers who have recently written concertos for him include David Matthews and Carl Vine, and many future commissions are being planned.
With an award-winning discography, Isserlis' recordings reflect his diverse interests in repertoire. His most recent releases are of Strauss's ‘Don Quixote’ with the Bayerische Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra under Lorin Maazel, and of Rachmaninov and Franck sonatas with Stephen Hough. Two more recordings with Stephen Hough are to be released during the current season: the Brahms sonatas, coupled with works by Dvorak and Suk, for Hyperion Records; and a disc of children's cello music for BIS Records. The author of the sleeve notes for most of his recordings, Isserlis enjoys writing, and is a regular contributor to leading newspapers and journals. His children's history of the lives of six great composers Why Beethoven Threw the Stew was published by Faber & Faber in October 2001 and has already been reprinted three times due to popular demand. A Japanese edition was printed in Autumn 2002, and several further translations have since been published. A second book, to be entitled Why Handel Waggled his Wig, is scheduled for publication in May 06. With his fresh, inimitable style and approachable personality, Steven Isserlis is ever popular with children and enjoys giving concerts especially for them.
A strong interest in musical education makes Isserlis much in demand for teaching; he is Artistic Director of the International Masterclass and Chamber Music forum IMS Prussia Cove and has just been appointed President of the European String Teachers' Association. He is regularly invited to teach at various prestigious academies in the US, Europe and Australia.
He has also edited and arranged several works for Faber Music and for the internet publisher sheetmusicnow.com and is President of the New York-based charity Music for All Seasons. Awarded a CBE in 1998 in recognition of his services to music, Steven Isserlis is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music and in 2000 received the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau (Schumann's birthplace) - previous recipients include Gilels, Masur, Richter and Fischer-Dieskau. In 1993 he was the recipient of both the Piatigorsky Award in the US and the Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the UK; in 2001 he received a Classic FM ‘Red FM Award’ for his contribution towards increasing the popularity of classical music, while the London magazine Time Out named him ‘Classical Artist of the Year 2002’. His performance of Carl Vine's new cello concerto at the Sydney Opera House in 2004 was awarded the ‘Best Performance of an Australian Composition’ in the 2005 ABC Awards.
Steven Isserlis plays the Feuermann Stradivarius of 1730, kindly loaned by The Nippon Music Foundation of Japan.
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