Biography

British cellist Steven Isserlis enjoys a uniquely varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author, and broadcaster. He appears with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, and as a chamber musician, he has curated concert series for venues such as Wigmore Hall, New York’s 92nd St Y, and the Salzburg Festival.  

He has a strong interest in historical performance and is also a keen exponent of contemporary music, having premiered many new works, including John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil, Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés, and Gyorgy Kurtag’s ‘For Steven.’

Steven Isserlis records for Hyperion Records, Ltd. and BIS Records. His discography includes J.S. Bach’s cello suites for Hyperion (Gramophone’s Instrumental Album of the Year); Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano with Robert Levin; and the Elgar and Walton concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Paavo Järvi. His recent 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 C.P.E. Bach with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, which was shortlisted for a 2019 Grammy award. A special First World War-inspired disc with Connie Shih was also released in 2017. His latest album, featuring Shostakovich’s and Kabalevsky’s cello sonatas with pianist Olli Mustonen, entered the UK classical album chart at number one.                

Since 1997, Mr. Isserlis has been Artistic Director of the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, Cornwall. His honors include a CBE in recognition of his services to music, the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau, and the Piatigorsky Prize in the US. He gives most of his concerts on the “Marquis de Corberon (Nelsova)” Stradivarius cello of 1726, kindly loaned to him by the Royal Academy of Music. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1995. For more information, visit stevenisserlis.com.

(May 2019)