Sol Gabetta

Cello

Discography

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Sol Gabetta Programme Biog 2526.doc English

“Wit, aristocratic poise and elegance; mercurial shifts of mood, intensity and lightness of touch in near-miraculous balance”
(The Glasgow Herald)

Artistic Director: Solsberg Festival
Artistic Director: Festival Presenza LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura

Following her triumphant return to the United States last season — marked by her long-anticipated debut with the New York Philharmonic and further appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä — Sol Gabetta reunited with New York Philharmonic and Jakub Hrůša in 2025 for a guest performance at the Bravo! Vail Festival in Colorado. At the heart of her 2025/26 season is a personal and historically inspired project: A tribute to a forgotten pioneer — Lise Cristiani. Gabetta embarks on a musical journey in honour of the 19^th-century cello virtuoso, one of the first women to conquer the cello stage. Cristiani’s path-breaking career took her across Scandinavia, Russia, and even to Kamchatka, farther than any Western musician had travelled at the time. In this programme, Gabetta revives the spirit of Cristiani’s legendary concerts with works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Offenbach, Donizetti, and Servais, presented in historically informed interpretations. This project will be performed at major European venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, BOZAR Brussels, Isarphilharmonie Munich, KKL Luzern and Konzerthaus Dortmund.

Following recent residencies at Wiener Konzerthaus and with orchestras such as Staatskapelle Dresden, Bamberg Symphony and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Sol Gabetta’s 2025/26 season is shaped by three major residencies. As focus artist of Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, she returns to an institution where she made her debut exactly twenty years earlier, appearing throughout the season in celebration of this longstanding collaboration. She also curates residencies at the Konzerthaus Dortmund and at BOZAR Brussels, where she appears with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Martinů’s Cello Concerto. Gabetta embarks on major tours with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under Paavo Järvi and with Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov and returns to Warsaw Philharmonic under Krzysztof Urbański to perform Lutosławski’s cello concerto, as well as to Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig with Mikko Franck. Further performances take her on tour of Spain with Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hrůša. Gabetta also continues her collaboration with Philharmonia Orchestra and reunites with Münich Philharmonic under Lahav Shani. A committed advocate for contemporary music, Gabetta also continues to champion Cello Concerto written for her by Francisco Coll, recently performed at Radio France, the BBC Proms in London, and the BBC Proms Japan.

A sought-after guest at leading festivals, Sol Gabetta was Artiste étoile at Lucerne Festival where she appeared with Wiener Philharmoniker and Franz Welser-Möst, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Francois-Xavier Roth and London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Marin Alsop. She continues drawing inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators and musical encounters at the Solsberg Festival, which flourishes under her committed artistic direction. Chamber music remains central to Gabetta’s work. She appears regularly with Isabelle Faust, Bertrand Chamayou, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Alexander Melnikov, and Francesco Piemontesi. Her performances have led her to Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Lucerne, Verbier, Salzburg, Schwetzingen, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, and Beethovenfest Bonn.

In recognition of her exceptional artistic achievements, vision, and creativity, which have made a significant contribution to Europe’s cultural life, Sol Gabetta was honored with the European Culture Prize in 2022. She also received the Herbert von Karajan Prize at the Salzburg Easter Festival in 2018 where she appeared as soloist with Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann. In 2019 she was awarded the first OPUS Klassik Award as Instrumentalist of the Year for her interpretation of Schumann’s Cello Concerto. The ECHO Klassik award saluted her accomplishment biennially between 2007 and 2013, and in 2016. A Grammy Award nominee, she also received the Gramophone Young Artist of the Year Award in 2010 and the Würth-Preis of the Jeunesses Musicales in 2012 as well as commendations at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. She continues to build her extensive discography with SONY Classical, the most recent releases being a recording of late Schumann works and a live recording of the cello concertos by Elgar and Martinů with Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle / Krzysztof Urbański. In 2017, Gabetta joined forces with Cecilia Bartoli on an extensive tour throughout Europe showcasing their album Dolce Duello, released on Decca Classics.

Sol Gabetta performs on several Italian master instruments from the early 18^th century, including a cello by Matteo Goffriller from 1730, Venice, provided to her by Atelier Cels Paris, and since 2020, the famous “Bonamy Dobree-Suggia” by Antonio Stradivarius from 1717, on generous loan from the Stradivari Foundation Habisreutinger. She has been teaching at the Basel Music Academy since 2005.