Emanuel Graf, Biography

German/Swiss cellist Emanuel Graf’s is a spellbinding artist who holds the honor of playing the “L’Évêque de La Rochelle” cello made by Antonio Stradivari in 1690.

His performances have been acclaimed as “fascinating, with impressive technique, great sensitivity, thrilling musical expressiveness and a colorful, dynamic, broadly differentiated sound”. His Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante—the Mount Everest of cello works—was described as “simply brilliant! A grand festival for all music and cello fans” (Thüringer Zeitung). Graf’s “fine work” was singled out by Bachtrack’s Hugo Shirley when praising the “breathtaking level of virtuosity” of the Bavarian State Orchestra. Yet another review applauded how “Graf delivered the solo part with rich tone and … an authoritative and meditative style” (Antoine Lévy-Leboyer, Seen and Heard International). Most recently, Christine Adam of Badische Zeitung wrote that Graf played “elegantly, with extremely detailed design of even the smallest musical units of meaning.”

He has played with orchestras such as Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, WDR Symphony Orchestra, SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, HR Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Basel Symphony Orchestra, to name a few, and played at venues including la Scala in Milan, Semper Opera Dresden, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Chicago Symphony Center, Vienna Music Association, Palace of the Arts Budapest, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Taiyuan Shanxi Grand Theater, and Carnegie Hall.

He has worked with famous conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Zubin Metha, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph Eschenbach, Andris Nelsons, Gianandrea Noseda, Vladimir Jurowski, Paavo Järvi, Yoel Gamzou, and Kirill Petrenko.

Graf completed his studies with Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, to whom he was also assistant. He has received guidance from Profs. David Geringas, Wolfgang Böttcher, Wolfgang Marschner, Ana Chumanchenko and Jens Peter Maintz. While still studying, Graf became principal cellist at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen.

Graf is fascinated by contemporary music and has premiered the cello works of composers Georg Friedrich Haas and Marshal McDaniel—the latter at Esslingen Festival, to great success. In order to explore the connection of music to different arts such as literature, dance, and painting, Emanuel founded 3Klang Cultural Centre, together with his musician family, in the south of Freiburg, Germany. With the aim of promoting young cellists, Graf took over the management of Cellifamily, an ensemble of 12 international musicians which seeks to create cross cultural bridges through music.

Upcoming performances include Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Bayerische Staatsorchester under Mo. Krzysztof Urbański, Lalo’s Cello Concerto with the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, and Saint Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 at the Komische Oper Berlin.

https://emanuelgraf.com/about/

Teo Gheorghiu, Biography:

Teo Gheorghiu is above all a “poetic storyteller” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) and his captivating style has fascinated audiences at venues such as Wigmore Hall and the Barbican. He has played to great acclaim with orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. He has collaborated with conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Matthias Pintscher and Alexander Shelley. Critics have praised his “blinding clarity” (Tribune de Geneve), and the “imagination of sound” (Alain Cochard, Concert Classic), that lends itself to “thrilling playing” (General-Anzeiger Bonn). He frequently collaborates with his mentor, Maria Joao Pires, and has played at her Belgais Center for Arts. Upcoming performances for 2024/2025 season include a collaboration with Gabor Takacs-Nagy and l’Orchestre de Chambre Fribourgeoise, touring Germany / Switzerland with the Swiss Orchestra under the baton of Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer, reuniting with Andrei Feher at Symphony Nova Scotia, opening the Bach Festival in Chisinau and making his debuts with Filarmonica Banatul Timisoara and Filarmonica de Stat Targu Mures, as well returning to give a recital at Meisterzyklus Bern. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2023. 

Born near Zurich, Swiss-Canadian pianist Teo Gheorghiu burst on the music scene when he won first prize at the International San Marino Piano Competition in 2004 and followed up with the top award at the Franz Liszt International Competition in Weimar. He captivated hearts in the moving film about a music prodigy Vitus (2006), with Bruno Ganz. At the age of 18 he was the youngest recipient of the Beethoven Ring at the Beethoven Fest in Bonn and in 2017 he received the Best Canadian Artist award at the Concours Musicale International in Montreal. 

He lived in London for many years, where he studied under Hamish Milne. He has also worked with leading orchestras such as the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Sinfonie Orchester Basel, London Chamber Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais in Brazil, and the Romanian National Radio Orchestra. He has played recitals in Latin America at Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, Teatro Mayor in Colombia, and participated in festivals such as the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Ravinia Festival and Festival Strings Lucerne. 

Currently based in Switzerland, Teo Gheorghiu regularly collaborates with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and is Artistic Director of Société des Concerts de Fribourg. He is a Steinway artist, and has recorded with Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classics, and Claves labels. His repertoire comprises the full range of European composers, from Bach and Enescu, to Bartók and Gurdjieff. He has recently focused on composers such as Albéniz, Granados, Ravel, and Debussy. Teo speaks Romanian, German, French, and English. Embracing his multicultural background led him to explore his Romanian ancestry, and he released Roots in 2022. http://teogheorghiu.net/