Eight outstanding cellists come together in this ensemble to bring the impressive sound of eight cellos to the stage. No other string instrument is as versatile and masters both high and low registers as well as vocal melodies, bass foundation and fast rhythms.
With baroque concerti by Antonio Vivaldi, romantic works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and tango compositions by Astor Piazzolla, 8Celli present a programme that savours this entire range of instruments and already drew standing ovations from the audience at their Cologne debut in 2021.
This concert is part of our new series Kölner Klassik © NRW 2024, where works of recent and new music that are outstanding in their quality and have a connection to NRW will be performed side by side with more familiar chamber music. One of these works is Fandango for six cellos by Thomas Blomenkamp. The work was premiered in 2016 in the Robert Schumann Hall in Düsseldorf. The second work in this context is the Suite en quatre mouvements, op 18 for eight cellos by Tobias Kassung. It was premiered in September 2022 at the Altes Kurhaus Aachen. The work was commissioned by the Landesmusikrat NRW.
Programme: Josef Gabriel Rheinberger: Abendlied; Sergei Rachmaninoff: Hier ist es schön (Zdes Khorosho), op. 21 Nr. 7; Vocalise, op. 34 Nr. 14; Prélude g-Moll, op. 23 Nr. 5; Tobias Kassung (*1977): Suite en quatre mouvements, op. 18; Thomas Blomenkamp (*1955): Fandango für sechs Celli; Astor Piazzolla: Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
Line up: Lena Kravets (Artistic Director), Emanuel Wehse, Zuzanna Sosnowska, Ània Custodio Folch, Joseph Defant, François Lhuissier, Noémie Klages, Magdalena Wolf
