Symphonic Concerto — Alban Gerhardt

Alban Gerhardt

PFB Olari Elts Orchestra — conductorTalban Gerhardt — cello

Conducted by: Agata Kwiecińska

Programa:

Edward Elgar — Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85 [30']

Break [20']

Jean Sibelius — Symphony No. 1 in E minor Op. 39 [41']

Alban Gerhardt has earned recognition as one of the most versatile cellists in the world, highly regarded for his technical mastery, deep musicality and unbridled artistic curiosity. In addition to all the basic cello concertos, Gerhardt's extensive repertoire includes numerous contemporary works, such as the Unsuk China or Brett Dean concerts, which Gerhardt commissioned. Orchestras with which he collaborated include: Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, among others. Orchestre National de France, Orquesta Nacional de España, as well as all British and German radio orchestras, under the baton of such conductors as Daniel Harding, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Karina Canellakis, Myung-Whun Chung, Christoph von Dohnányi, Kurt Masur, Klaus Mäkelä, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Vladimir Jurowski and Andris Nelsons.As an avid chamber musician, Gerhardt regularly performs with pianists Steven Osborne and Alexei Volodin and with the Alliage Saxophone Quintet. After intense recordings for Hyperion, Gerhardt's album of complete Bach suites was among The Sunday Times' top 100 recordings of 2019. His album with cello concertos by Shostakovich with the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Jukka-Pekka Saraste received an ICMA award in 2021. In turn, the recording of the cello concerto Unsuk China, released by Deutsche Grammophon, won the BBC Music Magazine Award and was shortlisted for the Gramophone Award in 2015.As artist in residence, Alban Gerhardt has performed at Wigmore Hall with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony. Since 2025, he has been artistic director of the Young Euro Classics Festival in Berlin, together with composer Mathias Hinke. Alban Gerhardt plays Matteo Gofriller's 1710 cello.

albangerhardt.com

Olari Elts, photo by Kroot Tarkmeel

Olari EltsConductor of Estonian origin, born in 1971 in Tallinn. He is currently the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. He is also the founder of the chamber ensemble NYYD Ensemble, specializing in the performance of contemporary music. He has collaborated with the Wiener Symphoniker, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, the Orchestre National de Lyon and many other outstanding orchestras. He also specialises in chamber repertoire. He also became famous in the field of opera music, conducting a number of productions, including Don Giovanni W.A. Mozart, G. Puccini's Triptych and The Condemnation of Faust by H. Berlioz.

olarielts.com