| News |
28.1.2010 Danjulo Ishizaka: Dedicated to the sound behind the sound
“He is no longer just a talent, but a true musical personality,” wrote the largest German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung about young Japanese-born German cellist Danjulo Ishizaka who is to guest appear at the National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius on January 30th. The coming Saturday, at 7 pm, together with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra under Robertas Šervenikas he will perform solo in works by Romantic composers, for which he feels affinity both as a person and an artist.
The programme includes works by Mieczysław Karłowicz and Bedřich Smetana, both of whom were ardent champions of their respective national schools of composers; Nocturne for cello and small orchestra in D minor, Op. 19, No. 4, and Pezzo Capriccioso for cello and string orchestra, Op. 62 by Piotr Tchaikovsky, who tried to combine the local musical traditions with those stemming from the Western music history; and finally, the Concerto for viola and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki, who specially wrote a version for cello and orchestra after his appearance with the young virtuoso and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Vienna’s Musikverein in 2003.
Danjulo Ishizaka has garnered a number of first prizes at the major cello competitions in Spain (1998 International Gaspar Cassado Cello Competition), Poland (1999 International Lutosławski Cello Competition) and Germany (2001 ARD international music competition; Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann of the Kronberg Academy and the Universität der Künste in Berlin, 2002). But the concerts he gave in November 2003 at the Vienna Musikverein with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra under the baton of Krzysztof Penderecki marked the true launch of his international career. Following a performance soon after at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung raved, “Genius breaks new ground.” Since then the critics have been unanimous in praising his phenomenal technical potential, imaginative and spontaneous tone-colours and intelligent interpretations (according to them, he is one of a few living cellists who perform Schumann’s Cello Concerto as if it were composed for them), promising him a place in the ranks of cello giants.
Following his extremely successful series of concerts with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach in the early spring of 2007, the magazine Der Spiegel published a profile of the cellist Danjulo Ishizaka: “... it is clear why he rises above the broad mass of technically perfect strings that currently swamp the classical music market and make the search for an exceptional talent so necessary and so exciting: he is that exceptional talent. Ishizaka’s technique need little discussion, it seems perfect. His seriousness is convincing, as are a nervousness and depth of sensitivity that are never solely dedicated to intoxicating emotionality, but rather to a deeper truth, the sound behind the sound.”
Over the past few years Ishizaka has travelled the length and breadth of western and eastern hemispheres – from the United States and the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and Poland to Russia, Israel, China and Japan – performing with the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Gewandhaus Orchester, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Tokyo and the Singapore symphony orchestras. He has also appeared at the major festivals, including The BBC Proms, City of London Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Cellofestival Kronberg, Rheingau Music Festival, Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, Ljubljana Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Luzerner Festspiele, City of London Festival, Manchester Cello Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival.
His astonishingly successful career is also marked with such achievements as the recording contract with Sonny Classics and the support he receives from the Kronberg Academy, which also provides him with the Wolfgang Schnabl cello, formerly played by his teacher Boris Pergamenschikov. In addition, he plays the 1696 Stradivarius Cello “Lord Aylesford”, on loan to him from the Nippon Music Foundation. Two years ago Danjulo Ishizaka was chosen for BBC Radio 3’s renowned “New Generation Artists scheme,” providing him with the opportunity to make numerous studio recordings in 2007 and 2008 – solo, with piano and with the five BBC Symphony Orchestras – as well as debut recitals at Wigmore Hall London and Bridgewater Hall Manchester.
Danjulo Ishizaka’s current appearance at the National Philharmonic Hall is supported by the German Embassy in Vilnius.
Back
