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| "What is it about Germans and their cello? |
| ...the German school of cello playing. And if you haven't considered that there is a German school of cello playing, you may want to. There are a few rising soloists to make the point. Take Alban Gerhardt, born in 1969, who made a successful debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnanyi in April and will play Strauss's "Don Quixote" in Chicago with the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra on Friday and Saturday. He will make his debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony in the 2005-6 season.... Mr. Gerhardt plays with a big, emotive fullness. One of his teachers was Frans Helmerson, a Swedish cellist who also taught another player with a big sound, the Norwegian virtuoso Truls Mork...Another thing that unites the three cellists is their de facto demonstration that solo careers take quite a bit of pursuing...Mr. Gerhardt made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1991 and his New York debut in 1993, followed by appearances with Young Concert Artists. But only now is his American career starting to soar....“ |
| Anne Midgette, August 7, 2005 |
| “Youthful Intensity With a Touch of Humor |
| Alban Gerhardt...is an intensely serious artist. At least that was the initial impression during his riveting performance of Alfred Schnittke's Sonata...Mr. Gerhardt's playing was so focused that when he spoke off the cuff after intermission....the audience seemed genuinely surprised by his impish humor... Mr. Gerhardt's humorous side found an outlet in the remarkable Sonata in C by Benjamin Britten. He was alert to the whimsical grotesqueness of the Scherzo, the sarcasm of the hard-driving march and the brashness of the headstrong finale. His cello playing is bold, technically resourceful and rhythmically incisive.” |
| Anthony Tommasini, February 7, 1996 |
| New York Orchestra Debut with Jerry Schwarz and the New York Chamber Symphony at 92nd Y: |
| “...Alban Gerhardt set the tone of the evening with a lustrous reading of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. Mr. Gerhardt was at his best in music that demanded subtle phrasing, but his rich, variegated sound also did justice to the set's grand virtuosic gestures...” |
| Allan Kozinn, April 22, 1995 |
| New York Debut at Alice Tully Hall with Markus Becker |
| “..Mr. Gerhardt played with burnished tone, focused intonation and technical dexterity…(He) found both the passion and the color in Debussy's sensuous Sonata in D minor. And he ended the program with a thrilling, high-tension account of Kodaly’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello (op.8), and exquisite, demanding work...” |
| Allan Kozinn, November 16, 1993 |
