"The cello starts singing under his hands, known literature gets newly discovered, unknown works come to life again."
I had the pleasure of seeing Alban Gerhardt play tonight with the National Symphony Orchestra. The man is quite simply amazing. As he walked onto the stage, I not only had butterflies in my stomach, but they were flying from my mouth in anticipation. He played Prokofiev's Cello Concerto (Op. 58), which he had played entirely by heart, without sheet music. The work, around 40 minutes long, is in three movements:
Andante (11 minutes)
Allegro (18 minutes)
Andante con moto - Allegretto - Allegro marcato (11 minutes)
The premiere of Prokofiev's Cello Concerto (Op. 58) was generally thought to have been very poorly interpreted by the cellist, though the blame fell on Prokofiev for writing a "soul-less" concerto. The concerto was seldom played afterwards, until Prokofiev heard Rostropovich play it at a 1947 concert at the Moscow Conservatory. The performance reawakened Prokofiev's interest in the cello, and he rewrote his concerto (with advice from Rostropovich) to create the Symphony-Concerto (Op. 125). Also dating from this period are his cello sonata of 1949, and an unfinished concertino for cello and orchestra later completed by Kabalevsky.
It is always a mesmerizing experience to see a great artist, and Mr. Gerhardt certainly didn't disappoint. Playing with an extraordinary amount of technique and heart, it is easy to see why he is one of the greatest cellists of our time. The crowd was delighted when he graced us to a solo encore, although he attributed this to "the birthday of a good colleague in the orchestra." I believe it was Moderato by Rostropovich, but I am not 100% certain. Watching him play is an absolutely hypnotic experience, it is difficult to find the point where the instrument is separated from the person, because the two seem so intricately intertwined. Gerhardt seems at once hugging and coaxing the sound from the cello as he sways it from side to side in a dance, with his eyes closed, head slightly bowed, his left hand moving with mathematical and mechanical precision down the fingerboard, while his right hand angles and glides the bow across the strings, gentle when the note requires it, forcefully when it is asked. The saddle and endpin are always secure in their place, but from time to time, Gerhardt's face may shift up towards the audience, and you feel as though he is looking at you, although his eyes are closed, or a foot may creep slightly forward, and somehow this slight movement, feels as though it is not on behalf of the cellist, but the cello.
Alban Gerhardt's spellbinding performances have made him one of the most sought-after cellists in the world. After his career-launching debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1991, concerts followed on three continents. In Europe, he has appeared with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the radio orchestras of Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich, the Dresden Philharmonic, Hamburg Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony (London), City of Birmingham Symphony at the London Proms, Bournemouth Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Monte Carlo Philharmonic and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, among others. North American engagements include the symphonies of Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Utah, and Vancouver. Appearances in Asia include the Shinsei Symphony, the orchestras of Tokyo and Nagoya and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Upcoming and recent debut performances include the Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Toronto Symphony, the Netherlands Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony, as well as European tours with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, and the Venice Baroque Orchestra, during which Mr. Gerhardt will be playing a Baroque cello manufactured specifically for him.
Among the conductors with whom he has appeared are Sir Colin Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, James Conlon, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Sakari Oramo, Leonard Slatkin and Osmo Vänska.
Alban Gerhardt has also appeared worldwide in recital at venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, the Ravinia Festival, Wigmore Hall, Théâtre de la Ville, the Châtelet, Berliner Philharmonie and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has collaborated with many renowned pianists, including Christoph Eschenbach, Markus Groh, Cecile Licad, Steven Osborne and Lars Vogt. Festival appearances include Spoleto (Italy and the U.S.), Vancouver, Newport, Edinburgh, Schleswig-Holstein, Berliner Festwochen and the Autumn Festival in Prague.
As a recording artist, Alban Gerhardt has received the Midem Classic Award in 2006 for his Hyperion debut recording with concertos by Enescu, Dohnányi and d'Albert; the Echo Classics Prize in 2003 for his MDG Gold recording of Rubinstein's First Cello Concerto; and the Echo Classics Prize in 1998 for his Harmonia Mundi recording of Brahms sonatas with pianist Markus Groh. Other CDs include: Spanish Encores for EMI; the Dvorák Concerto and Brahms Double Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic under Neeme Järvi for BBC Music Magazine; the Barber Concerto, Frank Bridge's Orations and Michael Berkeley's Concerto with the Welsh BBC under Richard Hickox for Chandos; as well as a new CD of solo works for cello (Bach, Britten and Kodály) for Oehms Classics.
View his entire repertoire, biography, and upcoming performance information by clicking here.
There is a wonderful article featuring Gerhardt, as well as the other great German Cellists (Müller-Schott and Vogler), written by the New York Times. You may view it by clicking here.
A conversation with Alban Gerhardt.
