Robert Cohen (born 15 June 1959) is a British concert cellist.

Early life and education

Cohen was born on 15 June 1959 in London to violinist

Raymond Cohen Raymond HyamHis middle name has alternately been given as 'Hyam' (''Telegraph'' obituary) or 'Hyman' (''Independent'' obituary). Cohen (27 July 1919 – London, 28 January 2011) was an English classical violinist. Biography Early life and ed ...

and pianist Anthya Rael. Having begun playing the cello at age 5, at age 10 he entered the Purcell School for Young Musicians. He also began studies with

William Pleeth William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré. Biography Early years William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...

. At age 12 he made his concerto debut at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

, where he performed the Boccherini Concerto in B flat. His Wigmore Hall recital debut followed at age 17. In 1975 he began studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he graduated with a postgraduate Diploma of Advanced Solo in 1977. During this period he also studied with Jacqueline du Pré,

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (Biarritz, 13 October 1911 – Siena, 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian descent."'Play From The Stomach, ...

and

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

Career

In 1976 he made his recording debut with the

Elgar Cello Concerto Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, when his music had already gone out of fashion with the concert-g ...

and the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, which went on to receive a

Silver Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for recording sales. In 1984 he bought a Stradivarius cello, the ''Bonjour'', which he kept until 1993. He has been invited to perform concertos by conductors Claudio Abbado, Antal Dorati,

Sir Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ba ...

, Mariss Jansons, Sir Charles Mackerras, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti,

Sir Roger Norrington Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (born 16 March 1934) is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music. In November 2021 Norrington announced his retirement. Life Norr ...

Tadaaki Otaka is a Japanese conductor. Biography Otaka studied composition, theory, and French horn, at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. He was subsequently a conducting student of Hideo Saito. Otaka has served as conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orches ...

Sir Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Osmo Vanska. He has notably collaborated in chamber music with Yehudi Menuhin,

Amadeus Quartet The Amadeus Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, having retained its founding members throughout its history. Noted for its smooth, sophisticated style, its seamless ensemble playing, and its sensitive interpretat ...

, Menahem Pressler,

Leonidas Kavakos Leonidas Kavakos ( el, Λεωνίδας Καβάκος; born 30 October 1967) is a Greek violinist and conductor. As a violinist, he has won prizes at several international violin competitions, including the Sibelius, Paganini, Naumburg, and In ...

and Krystian Zimerman and with his regular duo partner pianist Heini Karkkainen. From 2000 to 2012 Cohen was Professor of Advanced Solo Studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano. In 2010 he became a professor at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. He gives masterclasses internationally and lectures on music preparation and performance techniques. In 1989 he became artistic director of the Charleston Manor Festival. The final festival took place in the summer of 2012. Cohen was the cellist of the

Fine Arts Quartet The Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music ensemble founded in Chicago, United States in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin. The Quartet has recorded over 200 works and has toured internationally for 77 years, making it one of the longest en ...

from October 2011 until January 2018. Composer

Sally Beamish Sarah Frances Beamish (born 26 August 1956) is a British composer and violist. Her works include chamber, vocal, choral and orchestral music. She has also worked in the field of music, theatre, film and television, as well as composing for chi ...

has dedicated two works to Cohen, the cello concertos 'River' (1997), inspired by the eponymous 1983 anthology by Ted Hughes, and 'Song Gatherer' (2009). In 2000 he directed a series on Les Six as part of the City of London Festival. In 2014 he created the ongoing monthly programme ‘On That Note’ with

Milwaukee Public Radio Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

(NPR), which discusses the life of a working classical musician. In 2020 he became an Ambassador of the Tim Henman Foundation.

Personal life

Married in 1987, Cohen lives with his wife in London. They have four sons.

Awards

* Suggia Prize for potential soloists - annually 1967-1971. *Piatigorsky Prize, Tanglewood 1978. * Winner of Young Concert Artists, New York 1978. * Winner of Unesco International Competition, Czechoslovakia 1981. * Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (HonRAM) in 2009. * Robert Helpmann Award, Australia 2005 - performing Brett Dean's 12 Angry Cellos.

Discography

References

External links

Interview with ICS (Internet Cello Society)
by Tim Janof
Charleston Manor Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Robert 1959 births Living people British classical cellists