Alban Gerhardt's spellbinding performances have made him one of the most sought-after cellists in the world. After his career-launching debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1991, concerts followed on three continents. In Europe, he has appeared with Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Kurt Masur, the radio orchestras of Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich, the Philharmonic Orchestras of London, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Prag, Manchester (BBC), Rotterdam, Helsinki, St.Petersburg, China, Nagoya und Hong Kong, Shinsei Symphony Tokyo as well as the Baltimore and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre Suisse Romande under the direction of conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, Paavo und Neeme Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Sir Neville Marriner and Osmo Vänskä.
After replacing the indisposed Heinrich Schiff with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo at the legendary London „Proms“ succesfully („…the finest live performance of the solo part in Dvorak‘s Cello Concerto that I can remember…“The Independent), he performed with them for the anniversary of Prokovievs 50th death his Sinfonia Concertante in Symphony Hall followed by a tour through Germany. Other orchestra engagements last year included the National Symphony Orchestra Washington with Leonard Slatkin, his debuts with the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Utah, Seattle, Bournemouth and a reinvitation with the Munich Philharmonic.
This year he is returning to play with the Dresden and Monte Carlo Philharmonic (D.Kitaenko and M.Janowski), débuts under Yakov Kreizberg with the Radioorchestra Stuttgart, the Nederland and Los Angeles Philharmonic (Hollywood Bowl) as well as with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and the symphony orchestras of Berlin, Trondheim, Detroit and BBC London. 2005 will see his debuts with the Boston Symphony under Christoph von Dohnanyi, the Forth Worth, Spokane, Columbus, Louisville and Jacksonville Symphony orchestras as well as tours through Europe with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and the Nederland Philharmonic.
Gerhardt’s repertoire is extensive. He played from Reicha to Dutilleux already more than 36 different cello concerti and will even be heard with a for him manufactured baroque cello on a European tour with the Venice Baroque Orchestra next year. Also his collaboration with contemporary composers like Unsuk Chin, who will write a concerto for him in 2006, Brett Dean, Peteris Vasks, Matthias Pintscher and Jörg Widmann proove his desire to enlargen the cello repertoire. Alban Gerhardt has also appeared worldwide in recital with pianists Cecile Licad, Stephen Osborne, Markus Groh, Lars Vogt and Christoph Eschenbach at venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, Wigmore Hall, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, the Chatelet, Berliner Philharmonie and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. His chambermusic partners include Julia Fischer, Christian Tetzlaff, Emanuel Pahud and Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg at the most prestigious festivals.
As a recording artist Mr. Gerhardt was awarded the ECHO Classics Prize for his recording of Brahms sonatas 1998 and his recording of Rubinstein‘s 1st Celloconcerto 2003. Other highly acclaimed CDs include "Spanish Encores" for EMI, the Dvorak Concerto and Brahms Double Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic and Lisa Batiashvili for the BBC Music Magazine, the Barber Concerto, Frank Bridge‘s „Orations“ and Michael Berkeley‘s Concerto (Chandos) with the Welsh BBC under Robert Hickox as well as his first solo album for Oehms Classics.
Born in Berlin in 1969 to a musical family, Alban Gerhardt started playing piano and cello at the age of eight, excelling in both instruments. After spending a number of years in New York City, he currently resides in Berlin with his wife Katalina and their 5-year old Janos Antonio.
