{"id":123510,"date":"2026-04-20T13:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=123510"},"modified":"2026-04-20T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:00:02","slug":"interview-steven-isserlis-brings-globally-recognized-cello-mastery-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/04\/20\/interview-steven-isserlis-brings-globally-recognized-cello-mastery-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Steven Isserlis Brings His Globally Recognized Cello Mastery to Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cellist
Cellist Steven Isserlis (Photo: Jackylepage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s so exceptional about the cello?,\u201d asks Steven Isserlis<\/strong> in a mockingly stern voice.<\/p>\n

Ludwig Van is speaking to him in London via Zoom a week before his duo concert with pianist Connie Shih<\/strong> for Music Toronto at the Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s such a human voice, but with a far bigger range than any human voice. It really feels like part of me. It\u2019s the way you hold it. It’s so much more natural than a violin. It just becomes part of your body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steven Isserlis<\/h2>\n

The passionate British cellist, whose charismatic demeanour is set off by a famous mane of curly hair, now quite grey, is an articulate speaker, writer, educator and broadcaster.<\/p>\n

Isserlis\u2019s recorded discography is vast and award-winning. He won the Gramophone Instrumental Album of the Year prize for his JS Bach suites and garnered Grammy nominations for his Haydn concertos and Martin\u016f cello sonatas with Olli Mustonen.<\/p>\n

Isserlis is justly acclaimed for such chamber pieces as the Mendelssohn Piano Trios with Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk and the complete Beethoven works for cello and piano as well as\u2014on a larger scale–the Brahms double concerto with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.<\/p>\n

Nor is Isserlis\u2019s work confined to old masters. He\u2019s justifiably acclaimed for commissioning and offering world premieres for such pieces as Sir John Tavener\u2019s The Protecting Veil, Thomas Ad\u00e8s\u2019s Lieux retrouv\u00e9s and four works for solo cello by Gy\u00f6rgy Kurt\u00e1g.<\/p>\n

The cellist has been a featured performer at the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Chicago Symphony, to name just a few. A recipient of the CBE in England, Isserlis has been recognized internationally by such commendations as the Piatigorsky Prize (USA) and the Glash\u00fctte Original Music Festival Award (Germany).<\/p>\n

The Concert<\/h3>\n

Isserlis is offering a varied program with Shih for Music Toronto on Thursday evening. It consists of: Beethoven\u2019s 12 variations on a theme from The Magic Flute, op 66; Schumann\u2019s 3 Fantasiestucke, op 73; Kabalevsky\u2019s Cello Sonata in B Flat Major, Op. 71; Kapralova\u2019s Ritournelle and Beethoven\u2019s Sonata for cello and piano in A Major, Op. 69, No. 3.<\/p>\n

Ludwig Van asked Isserlis first about the two unique offerings for the evening, the works by Dimitri Kabalevksy and V\u00edt\u011bzslava Kapr\u00e1lov\u00e1.<\/p>\n

\"Cellist
Cellist Steven Isserlis (Photo: Jean Baptiste Millot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Steven Isserlis: The Interview<\/h2>\n

He\u2019s quite enthusiastic about helping in the rediscovery of Kabalevksky\u2019s work, which has been abandoned since the end of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis first cello sonata is just a fantastic piece as you will hear. It’s stunning. I gather that young performers are starting to play it. It’s very funereal \u2014 quite gloomy in a way \u2014 but it’s also incredibly beautiful. I find it thrilling to play and, I hope, for others to listen to. It’s really unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kabalevsky was the head of the Union of Soviet Composers during the Stalin era, and his reputation has been besmirched by descendants of those who suffered during the Communist regime. Isserlis is an admirer of his talent despite the politics of that era.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome Russians won’t play Kabalevsky because he behaved badly under the Soviet regime, but few composers behaved well,\u201d he says. \u201cProkofiev wasn’t great either and people still play his music. I also play Kabalevsky\u2019s second cello concerto which is similarly exciting. Kabalevsky was a complex man \u2014 and really, his music is stunning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isserlis is pleased to bring forward the work of Kapr\u00e1lov\u00e1, a Czech woman of great promise who died in 1940.<\/p>\n

\u201cKapr\u00e1lov\u00e1\u2019s story is bizarre and tragic. She died young, possibly of typhoid fever. She had moved to France to be near Bohuslav Martin\u016f, who was her teacher, and a community of Czech artists. She had just married the month before. Martinu and his wife were at the ceremony. This is her last work. You can hear the influence of Martin\u016f, but it’s got its own character. It’s quite simple in a way \u2014 very rhythmic with a sort of bell-like character followed by a charming slower, gentler theme. I think it’s a very lovely piece. Knowing the story makes it special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beethoven & Schumann<\/h3>\n

Isserlis is forthright about the rest of the Toronto program, which consists of two of his favourite composers, Beethoven and Schumann.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s nothing greater for the cello and piano than Beethoven. They’re just incredible \u2014 all five sonatas, all three sets of variations. They gave me as much pleasure to play as anything I ever perform. I just adore them. I love the variations with which we start the program; it\u2019s meant to put the audience in a good mood. They’re just so charming and witty. The A major is probably the best with which to finish a program because it’s so full of sunlight and radiance and joy. It is the perfect duo sonata \u2014 all the material is perfect for both instruments. As for the Schumann, I never need any encouragement to play him. I’ve been semi-obsessed with him since I was 12 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ludwig Van asked Isserlis if any other composers make him respond as personally as Schumann.<\/p>\n

His reply is swift, \u201cGabriel Faur\u00e9. I feel that he has been a godfather in my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI adore Brahms but he’s less confessional than Schumann. With Brahms, it’s mostly in his very early and very late works that he invites you into his life in the same way Schumann does. It is Schumann\u2019s particular genius that he can treat each member of the audience as if he’s confiding in you personally. It’s not that I feel he’s a greater composer than Brahms, but I just feel closer to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know what it is about Faur\u00e9. He’s just been with me my whole life. My son is named after him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cellist
Cellist Steven Isserlis (Photo: Satoshi Aoyagi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Books & Cellos<\/h3>\n

Isserlis\u2019s son inspired him to become a book writer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my son was about six or seven, I wanted to find a book about the composers for him because he was getting interested in music. And I just couldn’t find the one I wanted for him. They were either too dry or too full of fantasy and not factually accurate. So, I decided why don\u2019t I try writing one? I’ve written four books, two for children, one for young musicians with my co-author Robert Schumann [updated and revised by Isserlis] and one for adults about the Bach suites.\u201d<\/p>\n

The books are titled: Why Beethoven Threw the Stew; Why Handel Waggled His Wig; Robert Schumann\u2019s Advice to Young Musicians Revised by Steven Isserlis; and The Bach Cello Suites \u2014 A Companion.<\/p>\n

Steven Isserlis\u2019s favourite cello, the 1726 \u2018Marquis de Corberon\u2019 Stradivarius has been the subject of media attention recently. He has it on near-permanent loan from the Royal Academy of Music and treats it with love and deference. Like any object of affection, Isserlis is happy to talk about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can play everything. But I wouldn’t play anything that’s too percussive on it, because it doesn’t like being hit. It’s a Marquis \u2014 an aristocrat.\u201d<\/p>\n

In general, he uses gut strings on the Strad. \u201cI find gut strings much more human and simpler. There are shades of meaning in them. I\u2019m sticking to my gut strings for which Schumann wrote his music, for which Beethoven wrote his music, for which Faur\u00e9 wrote his music, etc., etc. The colours in them are just, to me, incomparably more subtle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isserlis still has a Guadagnini and a Montagnana, but his first love is the Strad with gut strings.<\/p>\n

His words are definitive, \u201cI will use steel for repertoire that’s really better for steel, which is Shostakovich and many late 20th century composers. I say, if you really want decibels, go to a pop concert.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steven Isserlis\u2019s concert with Connie Shih won\u2019t be a pop concert. Expect chamber music at its finest.<\/p>\n

Concert Details<\/h2>\n

Music Toronto presents Steven Isserlis (cello) & Connie Shih (piano). Program: Beethoven\u2019s 12 variations on a theme from The Magic Flute, op 66; Schumann\u2019s 3 Fantasiestucke, op 73; Kabalevsky\u2019s Cello Sonata in B Flat Major, Op. 71; Kapralova\u2019s Ritournelle and Beethoven\u2019s Sonata for cello and piano in A Major, Op. 69, No. 3.<\/p>\n

Special COSE pre-concert w\/ Eric Guo at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The concert takes place April 23, 2026<\/strong> at The Jane Mallet Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.<\/p>\n