You are here
About the performer
Steven Isserlis
Internationally acclaimed for his technique and musicianship, British cellist STEVEN ISSERLIS enjoys a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Highlights of recent seasons have included concerto performances with the Berlin Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonia Orchestra and András Schiff, the Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Järvi, the Cleveland Orchestra and Ton Koopman, the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) and Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Swedish Radio Symphony and Daniel Harding, the Vienna Symphony and Thomas Dausgaard, and the NHK Symphony and Tadaaki Otaka.
[WATCH FOR CZECH SYMBOLS] Performance highlights include appearances with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and David Zinman, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Jakub Hru°s?a, the DSO Berlin and Leonard Slatkin, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and Susanna Mälkki, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Donald Runnicles, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Thomas Sondergaard; recitals in Brussels, Budapest, Bonn, Baden-Baden, Hong Kong, Toronto, Baltimore, and Detroit; and performances of Beeethoven’s complete sonatas and variations for cello and keyboard with fortepianist Robert Levin in London, New York, and San Francisco.
Writing and playing for children is another major interest. Isserlis’ books for children about the lives of the great composers – Why Beethoven Threw the Stew and its sequel, Why Handel Waggled his Wig – are published by Faber and Faber, and both books have been translated into many languages. The recipient of many honors, Isserlis was awarded a CBE in 1998 in recognition of his services to music, and in 2000 he received the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau. He plays the Marquis de Corberon (Nelsova) Stradivarius of 1726, kindly loaned to him by the Royal Academy of Music.