About this Artist
ZUILL BAILEY’s rare combination of compelling artistry, technical finesse, and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought-after cellists today. Praised for his “virtuoso technique, strong, richly expressive tone and bold, individual manner of playing” (Gramophone), Bailey is a consummate concerto soloist.
This season Bailey performs the Dvorák Concerto with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, and the Elgar Concerto in Indianapolis under the baton of new Music Director Krzysztof Urbanski. He also plays Elgar with the Napa Valley, Youngstown, and El Paso symphonies, where he adds the Haydn C-major Concerto to the program. Other orchestral engagements include dates with the El Paso, Fairbanks, Knoxville, Shreveport, Pensacola, York, and Fort Collins symphonies, and a return to the National Philharmonic at Strathmore for the Haydn C-major following a performance there of the solo Bach Suites.
The 2010/11 season saw the release of a new album for Telarc International: Brahms Works for Cello and Piano. The disc, recorded with Bailey’s duo partner, pianist Awadagin Pratt, follows up the previous season’s critically acclaimed Complete Bach Cello Suites. A tremendous popular success, the album debuted on the Billboard Classical chart at No. 2, and remained in the top ten for many months afterwards. Other recordings include Russian Masterpieces on Telarc International, featuring works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich performed with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra; a debut recital disc for Delos; Cello Quintets of Boccherini and Schubert with Janos Starker and friends; Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 “live”; and the Korngold Cello Concerto with Kaspar Richter and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz for ASV.
Network television appearances include a recurring role on the HBO series Oz in addition to features on the NBC series Homicide, A&E, a live broadcast of the Beethoven Triple Concerto from Mexico City, and the televised production of the Cuban premiere of Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the National Orchestra of Cuba.
Zuill Bailey performs on a 1693 Matteo Gofriller cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. In addition to his extensive touring engagements, Bailey is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro Musica, Artistic Director designate of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and Series (Alaska), and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.