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Alban Gerhardt

About this Artist

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, the Hamburg Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony at the London Proms, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, among others. North American engagements include the symphonies of Vancouver, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Seattle, Utah, and Baltimore, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. Appearances in Asia include the Shinsei Symphony, the orchestras of Tokyo and Nagoya, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Upcoming debut performances include the Boston Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Ft. Worth Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, the Netherlands Philharmonic, and the Berlin Symphony, as well as European tours with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic, and the Venice Baroque Orchestra, during which Alban 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, Fabio Luisi, 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, the Kennedy Center, the Ravinia Festival, Wigmore Hall, Théâtre de la Ville, the Châtelet, Berliner Philharmonie, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has collaborated with many renowned pianists, including Christoph Eschenbach, Markus Groh, Cécile 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.

Gerhardt was awarded the ECHO Classics Prize for his recording of the Cello Sonatas of Brahms for Harmonia Mundi 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 BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra under Richard Hickox for Chandos; and a CD of solo works for cello (Bach, Britten and Kodály) for Oehms Classics.

Born in Berlin to a musical family, Alban Gerhardt started playing piano and cello at the age of eight, excelling in both instruments. Following studies in Cologne with Boris Pergamenschikov and Frans Helmerson, Gerhardt gained national attention by taking the top prize at several important competitions, including the ARD International Competition in Munich. After spending a number of years in New York, he now resides in Berlin with his wife, Katalina, and their five-year-old son, Janos Antonio.