‘Gerhardt… one of the finest cellists around, expressive, unshowy and infinitely classy.’ The Guardian

Alban Gerhardt bestrides the music world, an inspired soloist with international orchestras, a recitalist of rare insight and a muse to many composers: Brett Dean and Julian Anderson are the latest to write concertos for him.

In this programme with award-winning pianist Naoko Sonoda he presents Beethoven’s sublime Sonata No. 3 in A major alongside Prokofiev’s richly theatrical essay written for Rostropovich.

Crowning the evening will be Cesar Franck’s sweeping Sonata, a celebration of love and a masterpiece of thematic unity.

Having launched his career with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Semyon Bychkov in 1991, Alban Gerhardt has since gained recognition as one of the most versatile cellists, highly regarded for his performances, from solo Bach through the classical and romantic canon to collaborations with several contemporary composers. Gerhardt has won several awards, and his recording of Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto, released by Deutsche Grammophon, won the BBC Music Magazine Award and was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in 2015. Gerhardt has recorded extensively for Hyperion, his latest recording of complete Bach suites was released in 2019. He is a keen chamber musician; his regular performance partners include Steven Osborne and Cecile Licad. Gerhardt is passionate about sharing his discoveries with audiences far beyond the traditional concert hall: outreach projects undertaken in Europe and the US have involved performances and workshops, not only in schools and hospitals, but also pioneering sessions in public spaces and young offender institutions. He plays a Matteo Gofriller cello dating from 1710.

Japanese-born pianist Naoko Sonoda is a prize-winner of several international piano and chamber music competitions, including those in Argento and Trieste (Italy), as well as the Łódź Competition (Poland). Solo and chamber music concert invitations have taken her throughout Europe, Asia, US and South America. She is in high demand as a collaborative pianist; she received prizes as best collaborative pianist at the International Music Competition in Markneukirchen (2013, 2019 ), the Lutosławski International Cello Competition in Warsaw (2015, 2018), and the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition (2015, 2019). Her performances are regularly broadcast on international radio and TV, including Kulturradio RBB in Germany, NPO Radio 4 in Netherlands, Radio Romania, NHK-FM in Japan and the BBC.

Please note, due to unforeseen circumstances, pianist Bezhod Abduraimov can no longer take part in this event. Naoko Sonoda is kindly stepping in. The repertoire has changed and no longer reflects the information listed in our What’s On brochure.