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Joseph Haydn’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 masterfully allows the violoncello to compete effortlessly against the orchestra, demonstrating the composer’s brilliant texturing abilities and being an excellent example of why the composer is considered of such considerable renown.
Similarly, Alexey Shor’s ‘Musical Pilgrimage’ is a brilliant composition for cello and orchestra inspired by the virtuosity of 19th century music, baroque opulence and even Latin American music.
Steven Isserlis is the soloist for these two fascinating pieces, with Sergey Smbatyan and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra combining these compositions with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, a piece that was declared the best symphony of all time according to a BBC Music Magazine survey of 151 conductors around the world in 2016.
Sergey Smbatyan is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. An avid popularizer of classical music, the conductor has an extensive international engagement, and is committed to rejuvenating the classical music audiences and the promotion of contemporary classical music globally.
Born into a family of musicians, Sergey Smbatyan took his first steps in the world of classical music under the guidance of her grandmother Tatyana Hayrapetyan, a distinguished violin teacher, followed by his education at Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Subsequently, in 2012, he furthered his academic journey at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under Sir Colin Davis. His studies under the guidance of Riccardo Muti and Valery Gergiev significantly influenced and enhanced his proficiency in conducting.
Sergey Smbatyan's conducting career was highlighted by his debut performance with the London Symphony Orchestra at Windsor Castle, under the auspices of Prince Charles, now HRH Charles III. The impressive success of this concert led to a subsequent invitation, where he conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra at Buckingham Palace.
Sergey Smbatyan's extensive international involvement as a conductor and his distinctive appreciation for contemporary classical music has led to a wide array of collaborations with globally acclaimed composers, such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Tigran Mansuryan, Arvo Pärt, Gia Kancheli, and many others. Among such notable endeavors were the large-scale projects conducted with John Malkovich in several countries of Latin America and Asia. Led by Sergey Smbatyan and accompanied by the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the iconic Hollywood artist delivered a unique musical performance in Yerevan, presenting a reading of excerpts from “The Book of Lamentations” by the medieval Armenian poet Grigor Narekatsi.
The conductor serves as the artistic director of a number of annual music festivals, as well as the Khachaturian International Competition, to which the category of conducting was introduced through Sergey Smbatyan's initiative. Among the festivals founded by Sergey Smbatyan are the Khachaturian International Festival, which aims to uphold the legacy of Aram Khachaturian and other famous Armenian composers, the "Armenia" International Music Festival, which hosts world-renowned virtuoso musicians to perform in Armenia, the Penderecki Contemporary Music Festival, which showcases the works of contemporary legendary composers, and others.
Sergey Smbatyan is the founder of the "Music for Future Foundation (M4FF)”, which is committed to discovering young talented musicians and fostering their career advancement.
He strives to champion innovative approaches in the classical music industry, consistently seeking creative ideas and solutions in implementing various projects. During the opening ceremony of "WCIT 2019," the largest IT Congress for innovators and entrepreneurs, hosted in Armenia, an international orchestra performed an AI real-time-composed musical piece under the direction of Sergey Smbatyan.
Sergey Smbatyan releases recordings with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra on their own "ArmSymphony Records" label and is actively involved in recording contemporary classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras. His recent engagements include the album of spiritual music "Ave Maria" recorded with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the world-renowned tenor Joseph Calleja, released under the "DECCA Records" label, the album “Aznavouriana” by Deutsche Grammophon with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and cellist Camille Thomas in commemoration of French-Armenian singer and composer Charles Aznavour’s 100th anniversary.
In recent concert seasons, Sergey Smbatyan has served as a guest conductor with leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others.
As the conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Sergey Smbatyan embarked on numerous concert tours and performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Munich’s Gasteig , Vienna’s Musikverein, the Berliner Philharmonie, and other renowned concert halls.
In 2023, he led the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra on a grand UK tour, dedicated to Aram Khachaturian’s 120th anniversary and in 2024 on the orchestra’s debut tour in the United States with the performances at Boston’s Symphony Hall, New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and Los Angeles Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Highlights of 2024/25 season include concerts with the Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra as well as performances at Salle Gaveau and the Cité de la Musique of the Paris Philharmonie with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra featuring French and Armenian composers.
Up until the 2024/25 season, Sergey Smbatyan will be Principal Guest Conductor of Berlin Symphony.
Sergey Smbatyan holds the title of Honoured Artist of the Republic of Armenia and the title of “Chevalier of Arts and Letters” of France.
Sergey Smbatyan was appointed as a UNICEF National Ambassador in 2023.
Acclaimed worldwide for his profound musicianship and technical mastery, British cellist Steven Isserlis enjoys a uniquely varied and distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster.
As a concerto soloist he appears with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including the Berlin Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, London Philharmonic and Zurich Tonhalle orchestras, He gives recitals every season in major musical centres, and plays with many of the world’s foremost chamber orchestras, including the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Australian, Mahler, Norwegian, Scottish, Zurich and St Paul Chamber Orchestras, as well as period-instrument ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Unusually, he also directs chamber orchestras from the cello.
He works with many contemporary composers and regularly premieres new works on the international concert stage.
Read MoreRecent performing highlights include his debut with Dresden Staatskapelle, and as Artist-in-Residence with Kammerakademie Potsdam. On 21 June 2019 Steven performed with his close friend Radu Lupu at Lupu’s final-ever concert with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, where Steven directed pieces including Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23 in A, K488, with Lupu as soloist. Other appearances include with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Salzburg Mozartwoche; the US premiere of Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, following world and UK premieres in Lucerne and at the BBC Proms, and a further performance of the work in Amsterdam with the Britten Sinfonia, all conducted by the composer; Prokofiev’s Concerto Op. 58 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, in London and at the Dresden Music Festival; Haydn’s C major Concerto with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Adam Fischer; and Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1 on an Australian tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, he has curated series for many of the world’s most famous festivals and venues, including the Wigmore Hall, the 92nd St Y in New York, and the Edinburgh, Verbier and Salzburg Festivals. Recent highlights include a major exploration of two musical visionaries to whom he feels particularly close and is an enthusiastic champion: Gabriel Fauré and Robert Schumann, performed over a series of four concerts at the Wigmore Hall. A specially-devised new programme ‘Composers and their Muses’, exploring three pairs of composers who provided mutual inspiration for each other’s compositions – Clara and Robert Schumann, Vitezslava Kaprálová and her teacher Martinů and Augusta Holmès and her teacher César Franck, was performed with pianist Connie Shih and performed at Wigmore Hall and on tours of the US and Japan. Other specially devised programmes have included ‘In the Shadow of War', a major four-part series for the Wigmore Hall to mark the centenary of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War; explorations of Czech music; the teacher-pupil line of Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Ravel; ‘Cello and Voice’, a unique series of three programmes exploring the affinity of the cello and the human voice; varied aspects of Robert Schumann’s life and music; and the music of Sergei Taneyev (teacher of Steven’s grandfather, Julius Isserlis) and his friends and students. For these concerts Steven was joined by a regular group of friends which includes the violinists Joshua Bell, Isabelle Faust, Pamela Frank, and Janine Jansen, violist Tabea Zimmermann, and pianists Jeremy Denk, Stephen Hough, Alexander Melnikov, Olli Mustonen, Connie Shih, and Dénes Várjon. In 2019, he also undertook a major US tour with his longtime friends and collaborators Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, performing trios by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Ravel and Rachmaninov
On his 60th Birthday on 19 December 2018, Steven was joined by a group of his closest musical friends Radu Lupu (in a rare guest appearance), Sir András Schiff, Connie Shih, Ferenc Rados, Joshua Bell, and Sir Simon Keenlyside, both performing with and for him. Isserlis also performed the world premiere of For Steven Isserlis 60, composed especially for him by Márta and György Kurtág. The concert was preceded with favourite literary readings by actor Gabriel Woolf. He also takes a strong interest in authentic performance. Recent Hyperion releases include a recording of the Chopin Cello Sonata, Schubert’s Arpeggione sonata and other works by the two composers with Dénes Várjon, using an Érard piano of 1851. In recital, he gives frequent concerts with harpsichord and fortepiano. With harpsichordist Richard Egarr, he has performed and recorded the viola da gamba sonatas of J.S. Bach as well as sonatas by Handel and Scarlatti. Past seasons have featured a special performance with Sir Andras Schiff at the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, using Beethoven’s own cello; and recordings with Robert Levin of Beethoven’s complete music for cello and piano (selected for the Deutsche SchallplattenPreis), using original or replica fortepianos from the early nineteenth century, as well as performances of the cycle in London, New York, San Francisco, Norway and Tokyo. Steven and Robert recently toured extensively in the US and Europe with Beethoven recitals, including performances of the whole cycle in Florence, Milan and Chicago.
He is also a keen exponent of contemporary music and has premiered many new works including John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil (as well as several other pieces by Tavener), Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés, Stephen Hough’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, Left Hand (Les Adieux), Wolfgang Rihm's Concerto in One Movement, David Matthews' Concerto in Azzurro, and For Steven and Hilary’s Jig by György Kurtág. In 2016, he gave the UK premiere of Olli Mustonen’s of Frei, aber einsam for solo cello at the Wigmore Hall.
Writing and playing for children is another major enthusiasm. He has written the text for three musical stories for children - Little Red Violin, Goldiepegs and the Three Cellos, and Cindercella - with music by Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley; these are published by Universal Edition in Vienna. He has also given many concerts for children, for several years presenting a regular series at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Steven Isserlis’ books for children about the lives of the great composers – Why Beethoven Threw the Stew and its sequel, Why Handel Waggled his Wig – are published by Faber and Faber, and have been translated into multiple languages. His latest book, a commentary on Schumann’s famous Advice for Young Musicians, was published by Faber and Faber in September 2016, and in the US by Chicago University Press in 2017. The UK paperback edition will be published by Faber and Faber in March 2020.
As an educator, Steven Isserlis gives frequent masterclasses all around the world, and since 1997 he has been Artistic Director of the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, where his fellow- professors include Sir Andras Schiff, Thomas Adès and Ferenc Rados. He is also a regular participant, alongside Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff and Sir Andras Schiff, in the bi-annual series ‘Chamber Music Connects the World’ at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.
As a writer and broadcaster, he contributes regularly to publications including Gramophone, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, has guest edited The Strad magazine, and makes regular appearances on BBC Radio including on the Today programme, Soul Music, as guest presenter of two editions of Saturday Classics, and as writer and presenter of a documentary about the life of Robert Schumann. Most recently for BBC Radio 4, he presented a documentary about his hero Harpo Marx - ‘Finding Harpo’s Voice’, described by The Guardian as “sheer charm ... a winner”; and a conversation, ‘Only Artists’, with playwright and novelist Sebastian Barry, which The New Statesman reviewed as “perfect ... strikingly and joyously something from an earlier time”.
His diverse interests are reflected in an extensive and award-winning discography. His recording of the complete Solo Cello Suites by J.S. Bach for Hyperion met with the highest critical acclaim, and was Gramophone’s Instrumental Album of the Year and Critics’ Choice at the Classic BRITS. His latest recordings include the Brahms Double Concerto with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and – as director and soloist – concertos by Haydn and CPE Bach with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (Grammy Nominee for Classical Instrumental Solo in 2017, winner of Limelight Magazine’s Orchestral Disc of the Year in Australia 2017, and shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in the Concerto category in 2018). A special First World War-inspired disc with Connie Shih was also released in 2017, including works performed on a travel cello - now known as “the Trench Cello” - played in the trenches by WWI soldier Harold Triggs. Other recent releases include the Elgar and Walton concertos, alongside works by Gustav and Imogen Holst, with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Paavo Järvi; Prokofiev and Shostakovich concertos with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, also under Paavo Järvi; Dvořák’s Cello Concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Harding; and recital discs with Stephen Hough, Thomas Adès and (for BIS) a Grammy-nominated album of sonatas by Martinů, as well as works by Mustonen and Sibelius, with Olli Mustonen. His 2019 release with pianist Olli Mustonen Shostakovich & Kabalevsky: Cello Sonatas, entered the UK classical chart at Number One.
The recipient of many awards, Steven Isserlis’s honours include a CBE presented by the Queen in recognition of his services to music, the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau, and the Piatigorsky Prize in the USA. He is also one of only two living cellists featured in Gramophone’s Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was awarded the Glashütte Original Music Festival Award in Dresden, the Wigmore Hall Gold Medal, and the Walter Willson Cobbett Medal for Services to Chamber Music. In 2018, Steven was awarded with the Gold Medal and Certificate of Merit by the Armenian Ministry of Culture, and received the prestigious Maestro Foundation Genius Grant, awarded in recognition of his work as a dedicated educator.
He gives most of his concerts on the Marquis de Corberon (Nelsova) Stradivarius of 1726, kindly loaned to him by the Royal Academy of Music.
The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, IBA was established in 1936 as a small studio ensemble, which grew into the Palestine Broadcasting Service Orchestra. With the foundation of the State of Israel the orchestra became the national radio orchestra, known as the Kol Israel Orchestra. In the 1970s, the orchestra was expanded and became the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Broadcasting Authority. The orchestra was the first to perform in Israel the works of Sofia Gubaidolina, Henri Dutilleux, Alfred Schnittke and others. Through the years some of the greatest musicians have performed with the orchestra, among them Arthur Rubinstein, Igor Markevitch, Otto Klemperer, Henryk Szeryng, Isaac Stern, Radu Lupu and Yefim Bronfman. One of the most notable premières performed by the orchestra was The Seven Gates of Jerusalem by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, conducted by Lorin Maazel, which was composed for the finale of the Jerusalem 3000 celebrations. This was a joint venture with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. The orchestra often tours in Europe and the United States, and has played in some of the most prestigious venues. Recently JSO had successful tours to USA, where concerts took place from Florida to Massachusetts and for the first time a tour in Japan, both tours with Dmitry Yablonsky as conductor and soloist.
