Steven Isserlis

About


Official Site: http://www.stevenisserlis.com/flash.html



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 ChampsElysées under Philippe Herrweghe. Last season he  performed all Beethoven¹s 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  Beethoven¹s 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 ŒSleeping Beauties¹ 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 ŒSchubert¹s Vienna¹ 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 ŒDistinguished  Artists in Recital¹ 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 ŒThe Protecting Veil¹ 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 Strauss¹s ŒDon Quixote¹ 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 children¹s 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

(Reprinted from stevenisserlis.com)

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Steven Isserlis Discography (6titles)

Saint-Saens: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; La Muse et le Poète; Suite, Op. 16; Prière: Classic Library Series

Saint-Saens: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; La Muse et le Poète; Suite, Op. 16; Prière: Classic Library Series
3/22/05
82876658452
CD Longplay
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R.Strauss: Don Quixote - Complete Works for Violoncello

R.Strauss: Don Quixote - Complete Works for Violoncello
8/21/01
74321753982
CD Longplay
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Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto

Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto
1/9/01
09026635182
CD Longplay
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Cello World

Cello World
8/25/98
09026689282
CD Longplay
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Fauré-Complete Cello Works

Fauré-Complete Cello Works
4/11/95
09026680492
CD Longplay
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Cello Concerto No. 1., etc.

Cello Concerto No. 1., etc.
8/24/93
09026616782
CD Longplay
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