STEVEN ISSERLIS
Steven Isserlis' cultural background is fascinating： his grandfather was the Russian pianist and composer Julius Isserlis, while older branches of his own family tree seem to have been intertwined with other as diverse as those of Mendelssohn and Karl Marx. Today his artistic profile has strong personal characteristics： uniquely beautiful sound; diversity in his choice of repertoire; a passion for musicological detective work which allows him to resurrect pieces previously unheard for decades; and above all a palpable commitment to and passion for the music.
In 1998 he was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, in recognition of his services to music. He is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music, and in 1993 received the Piatigorsky Award in the USA, as well as the Royal Philharmonic Society Award in London for "performances with a quality of commitment that linger in the memory, and for an unfailing gift for communicating the meaning of the music to the audiences."
His busy international concert schedule includes invitations from the greatest orchestras and conductors. This season, he will perform with the Berlin Philharmonic and Christoph Eschenbach, a tour of the USA with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis, concerts with the Philharmonia and Leonard Slatkin.
The breath of his musical commitment extends to education ： he is Artistic Director of the international master class and chamber music forum IMS Prussia Cove. The chamber music series of Isserlis'devising are renowned such as his Mendelssohn project as part of the Salzburg Festival 1997. Schumann is a special passion for Isserlis - hence his Schumann Festival at the Wigmore Hall in 1989; plus a new film about Schumann for Channel 4 TV program which features Isserlis as presenter and performer. He also enjoys writing about music, regularly penning concert programs and CD sleeve notes.
He records exclusivly with RCA Victor Red Seal. Many of his recordings have won prizes such as International Gramophone Awards and the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis. The most recent release is a collection of short works entitled‘Cello World’.
