Alban Gerhardt

born in 1969 in Berlin, Germany

Alban Gerhardt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Alban Gerhardt (born 1969) is a German cellist. He has performed as a soloist with many internationally known orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Early life

Gerhardt was born in Berlin, where his father was a violinist in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He took up both the piano and the cello at the age of eight. He studied with Götz Teutsch of the Berlin Philharmonic for a year, and eventually began working under Markus Nyikos, who he credits with much of his success.[1]

Musical career

Gerhardt's first public performance came on February 22, 1987, when he played Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 2 in D as part of a chamber orchestra for the Berlin Philharmonic.[2] In July 1993, he won the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition sponsored by the University of Maryland, College Park; reviewing his prize concert in Alice Tully Hall for The New York Times, Allan Kozinn noted that Gerhardt "played with the burnished tone, focused intonation, and technical dexterity that one expects of young soloists in these days of high-gloss conservatory training," but criticized him for at points "missing...the spark of spontaneity."[3] In 1994 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

At the 2009 BBC Proms, he premiered a cello concerto by Unsuk Chin, which he has continued to perform around the world.[4]

He plays a cello made by Matteo Gofriller in 1710; the instrument previously belonged to Benito Mussolini.[4] In February 2013, a Transportation Security Administration baggage inspector in Washington Dulles International Airport damaged both the cello and a Heinrich Knopf bow worth $20,000.[5]

Personal life

As of 2011, he lived in the Nikolassee district of Berlin.[4] He supports the German political party Alliance '90/The Greens.[6]

References

  1. Tim Janof (interviewer), Conversation with Alban Gerhardt, The Internet Cello Society.
  2. A short autobiographical essay by Gerhardt (Under "Bio" and "A More Personal Alban").
  3. Allan Kozinn (16 November 1993), "Alban Gerhardt: Cellist: Alice Tully Hall," The New York Times: C18.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Alban Gerhardt: the German cellist who dares not to be perfect. The Strad 4046 (April 2011). Retrieved on 31 October 2013.
  5. Brian Wise (12 February 2013). Cellist's bow is damaged in airport mishap. WQXR-FM. Retrieved on 4 November 2013.
  6. Ivan Hewett (13 April 2011). Alban Gerhardt: the cellist takes a bow with babies. The Telegraph. Retrieved on 3 February 2014.

External links

This page was last modified 18.02.2014 18:45:31

This article uses material from the article Alban Gerhardt from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.