©Photo: Kaupo Kikkas

©Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke

Alban Gerhardt

Cello

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“A magician of cantabile playing and a master of virtuosic panache”
(Tagesspiegel)

Having launched his career with Berliner Philharmoniker and Semyon Bychkov in 1991, Alban Gerhardt has since gained recognition as one of the world’s most versatile cellists, highly regarded for his technical mastery, profound musicality, and insatiable artistic curiosity. His gift for shedding fresh light on familiar scores, along with his appetite for investigating new repertoire from centuries past and present, truly set him apart from his peers.

Notable orchestral collaborators include Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, all the British and German radio orchestras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre National de France, Orquesta Nacional de España as well as The Cleveland Orchestra, and Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, under conductors such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Kurt Masur, Klaus Mäkelä, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, Susanna Mälkki, Vladimir Jurowski and Andris Nelsons.

Alongside an extensive repertoire comprising all the core concertos, Gerhardt is also the go-to soloist for contemporary composers. Most recently, he premiered Julian Anderson’s Grawemeyer Award-winning cello concerto, Litanies, with Orchestre National de France, as well as Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto which he premiered with Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker, and played with New York Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others. Highlights in the 2023/24 season include Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Marin Alsop, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln with Susanna Mälkki, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Andrew Manze, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Simone Young.

A prolific recording artist, Gerhardt has received several awards for his recordings including an ECHO Klassik Award in 2008 for Reger: Cello Sonatas with Markus Becker under Hyperion, a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2015 for his recording of Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto with Myung-Whun Chung and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra under Deutsche Grammophon (for which he was also shortlisted for a Gramophone Award), and an International Classical Music Award in 2021 for Shostakovich: Cello Concertos with WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and Jukka-Pekka Saraste under Hyperion.

Also a keen chamber musician, Gerhardt regularly performs with pianist Steven Osborne amongst others. Recent years have seen him collaborate on new artistic projects, such as ’Love in Fragments’ – a poetic union of music, movement, sculpture and spoken word – with violinist Gergana Gergova, choreographer Sommer Ulrickson, and sculptor Alexander Polzin. Gerhardt will continue such collaborations throughout the 2023/24 season, appearing as Artist in Focus at Aldeburgh Festival and in Duisburger Philharmoniker’s Kammerkonzerte series with Alliage Quintett as he takes up the mantle of Duisburger Philharmoniker’s Artist in Residence for the season.

Gerhardt is passionate about sharing his discoveries with audiences far beyond the traditional concert hall, undertaking outreach projects across Europe and the US that have involved performances and workshops not only in schools and hospitals, but also public spaces and young offender institutions. Additionally, he has a strong online presence, teaching and interacting regularly with cello students worldwide through Patreon.

Alban Gerhardt plays a Matteo Gofriller cello dating from 1710.

HarrisonParrott represents Alban Gerhardt for worldwide general management.

Excerpts from Britten's Cello Symphony with Alban Gerhardt, Alpesh Chauhan and Düsseldorf Symphony

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op 107 - Alban Gerhardt - Eivind Gullberg Jensen

Excerpts from "Dance" by Anna Clyne with Alban Gerhardt, BBC Philharmonic and Ben Gernon.

Alban Gerhardt - New collaboration with the Alliage Quintett (recorded at Kulturraffinerie K714 Monheim) © Alliage Quintett

Alban Gerhardt - Bach: solo cello suites © A Fly on the Wall afotw.com

Dmitri Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No. 2, Opus 126 | WDR Sinfonieorchester | © WDR Classik

Alban Gerhardt - Brett Dean's Cello Concerto

Alban Gerhardt: Elgar - Cello Concerto, conducted by Susanna Mälkki at Festival de Lanaudière © PRODCAN

Alban Gerhardt on Mstislav Rostropovich © © Hyperion Records Ltd

Alban Gerhardt - Rostropovich: Moderato from Etudes for Cello Solo © © A Fly on the Wall afotw.com

Alban Gerhardt - Unsuk Chin: Cello Concerto (extract) © © Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall

Alban Gerhardt - Britten: Cello Concerto (extract) with Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE © Alban Gerhardt

Alban Gerhardt - Bach: Suite No.6 - Prelude © © Alban Gerhardt

Alban Gerhardt - Schumann: Cello Concerto - 1st Mvt (extract) © Hyperion records

Alban Gerhardt - Prokofiev: Symphony-Concerto in E Minor - Andante (extract) © Hyperion records

Alban Gerhardt - Sergei Rachmaninov: Vocalise Op.34 No.14 © Hyperion

Alban Gerhardt - Mstislav Rostropovich: Humoresque Op.5 © Hyperion

Alban Gerhardt - Fauré: Cello Sonata No.2 - Andante (extract) © Hyperion records

Alban Gerhardt's Dupont Underground Session © maD Cap

“Alban Gerhardt’s tone has a gripping presence, virtuosity serves him solely to intensify the expression.”

Frederik Hanssen for Tagesspiegel, August 2023

“The German cellist Alban Gerhardt is one of the most curious and versatile musicians on this instrument. For him, there are no blinkers or stylistic boundaries.”

Wilfried Schäper for Radio Bremen, July 2023

“Wild at times, with Bacchic frenzy and berserk drive as well as, in between, wonderful tones of the deepest, most tender feeling or deep melancholy. This is a real novelty, played by eminent talents. Alban Gerhardt brilliantly shows how effective it is when a cello ‘cheats’ with saxohones.”

Remy Franck on ‘Phantasy in Blue’ for Pizzicato, July 2023

“…in this diverse and beautifully recorded programme, [Alban] never disappoints, bringing panache and colour to his roles, and vast amounts of cellistic wizardry…”

Joanna Talbot on ‘Phantasy in Blue’ for The Strad, July 2023

“An intelligent performer and, above all, a splendid musician.”

Francisco Martinez Ramos for Bachtrack, June 2023

“Each lyrical phrase, aggressive bout of bowing, and striving, heartfelt high note from Gerhardt felt laden with emotional layers.”

The Star Tribute, January 2023

“In [Anna Clyne’s DANCE for cello and orchestra], the cello has to soar and fly to stratospheric heights of harmonics at times, to sing from a soulful D‑string at others, to grumble away […] Gerhardt was the master of all these…”

Bachtrack, January 2023

“Fantastically difficult, it was a real tour de force for Gerhardt, who played it from memory, very unusual for a contemporary work.”

(The Guardian, April 2022)

“Playing with beefy, bronzed tone, Gerhardt was a miracle of precision, omnipresent throughout and generating a powerful sense of camaraderie with his orchestral fellows.”

(Clive Paget, Musical America, February 2020)

“The commanding soloist, in his Philharmonic debut, was Alban Gerhardt, who also played the work’s world premiere with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in 2018, and its American premiere with the Minnesota Orchestra in November… Mr. Gerhardt played incisively and brilliantly.”

(New York Times, January 2020)

“Gerhardt, gently authoritative, immediately captured attention with his rich tone and nuanced phrasing in the Tchaikovsky. His 1710 Goffriller cello is evidently a ravishing instrument with an especially vibrant and dark lower register. Performing the Fitzenhagen version of the Rococo Variations each section naturally acquired its own distinct character in Gerhardt’s hands and, while the virtuoso passages were dispatched with effortless panache, it was the slower variations that lingered in one’s mind.”

(Bachtrack, October 2018)

“Gerhardt brilliantly surmounted the concerto’s challenging intricate rhythms, especially in the passages of Shostakovich-like relentlessness. Sustaining a rich tone and crystalline articulation, Gerhardt was equally assured in the sections of fast virtuosic passagework, extended sequences of high harmonics and subdued sotto voce gestures.”

( Brett Dean’s dream concerto makes virtuosic bow, The Australian)

“Dream-like moments drifted into more agitated passages, Gerhardt weaving virtuosically through the orchestra, relishing the tender moments and setting off a raucous frenzy in the ensemble as the Concerto reached its climax, before winding its way to a smouldering finish, a final curl of sound spiralling upwards like smoke. The Concerto, particularly in the hands of an advocate as fine as Gerhardt, is a fascinating, multi-hued work that will no doubt reward repeated listening.”

(The Limelight, August 2018)

“Gerhardt’s technique is as formidable as his musicality. His extensive range of volumes and articulations and the energy-filled rubato (never veering towards sloppiness) made this a distinctive interpretation.”

(Australian Book Review, August 2018)

“Gerhardt produced a great piece of musical acting, musing at the start and then infused with valour. His playing was always magnificent, his tone clear and focused. He shaped Strauss’s twisting lines with great style and threw off his vaunting leaps with panache.”

(The Strad, June 2018)

“German cellist Alban Gerhardt’s approach to this concerto struck a rewarding balance between passionate yearning and driving the music forward, ever conscious of its final goal. From the passionate double-stops of the opening, Gerhardt made his cello sing, employing a wide, intense vibrato. The accompaniment by the NSO was sensitively handled, the orchestra always listening to the cello’s mellow voice and adjusting their dynamic range accordingly. Gerhardt’s laser-like intonation was particularly impressive as he soared stratospherically. […] In the third movement Lento, the orchestra and cellist breathed as one, creating a moment of serene beauty. Gerhardt’s top notes shone with ethereal splendour, while the stillness he imbued his pianissimos with were equally impressive. In the final movement, he navigated the virtuosic rhapsodic passages with all the agility and sure-footedness of a Chamonix goat.”

(Bachtrack, February 2018)

[about the Rostropovich Encores recording] “Gerhardt is very much his own man, and in Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, Debussy’s Clair de lune and Ravel’s Pièce en forme de habanera he achieves a poetic grace and calm….[He] also discovers a piquant litheness and uncluttered ease in Stravinsky’s Russian Maiden’s Song. Enhanced by lucid and expertly balanced engineering, his is a highly engaging recital.”

(The Strad, March 2017)

“Dutilleux’s music needs forthright performance if it’s not to sound precious, a lesson cellist Alban Gerhardt has clearly learned. His performance of Dutilleux’s cello concerto Tout un Monde Lointain had a noble expansiveness free of the febrile fidgety quality that can sometimes creep into Dutilleux’s fluttering gestures.”

(Daily Telegraph, May 2016)

“No praise is too high for Alban Gerhardt’s musicianship, commitment and technique.”

(International Record Review)

“The calm authority and probing insight make him one of the finest cellists around — expressive, unshowy and infinitely classy.”

(The Guardian)

“Gerhardt’s playing is phenomenal, flipping between warmth and prickly brilliance.”

(Theartsdesk.com, August 2014)