Sonia Wieder-Atherton (born 1961) is a Franco-American classical cellist.

Life

Born in San Francisco of a Romanian mother and an American father of Jewish origin, she grew up in New York and then in Paris where she entered the Conservatoire de Paris in

Maurice Gendron Maurice Gendron (26 December 1920, near Nice20 August 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cellist, conductor and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. He was an Officer of the Legion of Honor and a recip ...

's class. She is the sister of Claire Atherton. After her studies at the Conservatoire de Paris in the cello classes of Maurice Gendron and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

Jean Hubeau Jean Hubeau (22 June 191719 August 1992) was a French pianist, composer and pedagogue known especially for his recordings of Gabriel Fauré, Robert Schumann and Paul Dukas, which are recognized as benchmark versions. Biography Admitted at th ...

, she studied with

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 ...

, then two years at the Moscow Conservatory with Natalia Shakhovskaya. In 1986, she was a laureate of the concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch. From then on, she played as a soloist with the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre national de France, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbonne, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. She is regularly invited by major international festivals. Composers dedicate works to her: Henri Dutilleux, Georges Aperghis (''Le reste du temps'', ''Profils'' for the duo she forms with Françoise Rivalland),

Pascal Dusapin Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Paris I ...

(including a cello concerto, ''Cello''), Betsy Jolas,

Ivan Fedele Ivan Fedele (born 6 May 1953 in Lecce) is an Italian composer. He studied at the Milan Conservatory. Fedele's compositions are published by Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, and many of his works are recorded on Stradivarius Records. Selected works ;St ...

. In chamber music, she plays with pianists Imogen Cooper,

Jean-Claude Pennetier Jean-Claude Pennetier (born 16 May 1942) is a French classical pianist. Biography Born in Châtellerault, Pennetier began studying the piano at the age of three and later entered the Conservatoire de Paris in piano and chamber music classes. Af ...

, Laurent Cabasso, cellists Raphaël Oleg and Silvia Marcovici, the violist Gérard Caussé, percussionist Françoise Rivalland. In 1999, the Académie des beaux-arts (France) awards her the Grand Prix Del Duca. She is also a composer and occasionally arranger, notably for her disc ''

A Couch in New York ''A Couch in New York'' (french: Un divan à New York) is a 1996 romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Chantal Akerman. The plot centers on an anonymous exchange of apartments between a successful New York psychoanalyst ( William Hurt) ...

'' (by Chantal Akerman). She composed the original music for the film ' by Benoît Barbier). In May 2011, she received the prize of the which each year nominates three winners whose work has creative value in each of the fields of the arts. On October 4, 2014, she participated in that year edition of Nuit blanche in Paris. In 2015, she was made an

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

. On 1 July 2018, she performed pieces composed by Gabriel Fauré, David Zahavi, Max Bruch, Ludwig van Beethoven, Serguei Rachmaninov, Jean-Sébastien Bach at the entrance ceremony to the Panthéon of Simone Veil and her husband

Antoine Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

Premieres

In recent years, Wieder-Atherton has been at the origin of many projects that she designs and stages: * ''Chants juifs'', a cycle for cello and piano where she is inspired by the art of the hazan. * ''Chants d’Est'', for cello and instrumental ensemble, conceived as a journey from Russia Mitteleuropa. * ''Vita'', for solo cello and three cellos, where she tells the story of Angioletta-Angel's life through two geniuses out of their time, Monteverdi and Scelsi. * ''Odyssée'' for cello and imaginary choir, a woman alone with her cello accompanied by a soundtrack, confronts the elements. Wind, waves, chaos, storms... * ''Little Girl Blue'', by Nina Simone, with piano and percussions. In addition, there are projects such as: * ''D'Est en musique'', a show created with the images from the film ''D’Est'' by

Chantal Akerman Chantal Anne Akerman (; 6 June 19505 October 2015) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist, and Film studies, film professor at the City College of New York. She is best known for films such as ''Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 108 ...

. * Danses nocturnes, with

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

, where the works of Benjamin Britten and Sylvia Plath meet. * ''Navire Night'', by Marguerite Duras, with Fanny Ardant.

DiscographyDiscography
( Discogs)

* ''Little Girl Blue, from Nina Simone'', Naïve Records, 2014, with

Bruno Fontaine Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

and Laurent Kraif * ''Vita Monteverdi Scelsi'', Naïve, 2011 * Jewish songs, Naïve, 2010 * ''Chants d'Est sur le sentier recouvert'', Naïve, 2009 * ''Brahms - Bach'', Sony-BMG, 2007 * ''En Concerto'', Sony-BG, 2006 * ''Rachmaninov : après un rêve'', with Imogen Cooper, Sony-BMG, 2002 * ''Au commencement Monteverdi'', Sony-BMG, 2001 * ''Schubert Trios / Arpeggione Sonata'', Sony-BMG, 1998 * ''L'Ecclesiaste'', with Sami Frey, RCA, 1996 * ''Un Divan à New York'' (B.O.F), RCA, 1996

Participation

* ''Château de sable'', on Jacques Higelin's album ''Beau Repaire'', 2013

References

External links