Cellos in the News: Top Stories of the Week

Here’s your weekly dose of cello news.

Cello News

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Oscar-Winning Cellist-Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir Composes Music for Video Game

In her first composition work for a video game, Oscar- and Grammy-winning cellist and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is collaborating with her composer husband, Sam Slater, to create the soundtrack of Battlefield 2042, a

massively multiplayer first-person shooter game and the seventeenth installment in Swedish developer Dice’s popular Battlefield series . . . published by Electronic Arts.

Guðnadóttir and Slater wrote that

“It was such a deeply creative experience to dive into this world and create a truly unique and disruptive musical environment for the game.”

Battlefield 2042 game (and soundtrack!) release date: 22 October 2021
Game Platforms: PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Soundtrack: vinyl and streaming

Matt Haimovitz Discusses Ligeti’s Sonata for Solo Cello

Matt Haimovitz talked to The Strad about his relationship with the Ligeti Sonata for Solo Cello. He worked closely with the composer on this piece. He said:

I’ll never forget the way he sang each phrase to me. He took the opening so slowly that I wasn’t sure I could sustain it on the cello, but I found it allowed me to perform like a painter, adding different vibratos, speeds and intensities.

Read the full article by Christian Lloyd in The Strad.

Premiere of Hayg Boyadjian’s New Cello Concerto

Delayed by the pandemic, the new cello concerto by Grammy-nominated composer Hayg Boyadjian was premiered by Aram Talalyan with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ruben Asatryan. Boyadjian, an American composer of Armenian descent, said:

“My cello concerto is a fusion of several musical elements or ingredients . . . I am first of Armenia descent; French by place of birth; Argentinian by having lived my youth in Buenos Aires; and finally from age 22 having lived in the USA.”

Click here to read the full article on The Violin Channel.

Part 2 of Janet Horvath’s Exploration of Cello Music by Women Composers

Luise Adolpha Le Beau

Cellist and author Janet Horvath continues her series on cello music by women composers with a look at works by Fanny Hensel, née Mendelssohn, Louise Farrenc, and Luise Adolpha Le Beau.

Read her article here.

We look forward to her next installment.

Texas Workforce Commission Hold Music Comes Full Circle

Cellos in the News: Top Stories of the Week - 27 August

The members of Montopolis. (Justin Sherburn is in the hat.)

Last spring, Austin-based composer Justin Sherburn was inspired by hours he spent on hold with the Texas Workforce Commission to claim benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. He composed an album of “hold music” for cello and piano.

Sherburn released his album in March.

Grateful for the assistance he’d received during his time of unemployment, Sherburn offered the agency the license to use the material for free, which they accepted. “I was happy to give back,” Sherburn tells Texas Monthly. “I received unemployment checks for a year, and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without those funds.”

Now those who call the Texas Workforce Commission hear the comforting sounds of the cello in Sherburn’s music. He said:

“Nobody who is calling the Texas Workforce Commission wants to be on that phone call. Having our music give a little comfort to those people thrills me to no end.”

Read the full article by Dan Solomon in the Texas Monthly.

Cellist Tina Guo Joins Sabaton and World of Tanks in new “Steel Commanders” Video

Metal meets gaming meets cello in this collaboration. Cellist Tina Guo first appears about 1:12 in the video.

Read the full story by Chad Childers on Loudwire.

The Emerson String Quartet Plans to Disband in 2023

The Emerson String Quartet. Photo: Richard Termine for The New York Times

After nearly 50 years, the Emerson String Quartet plans to disband in 2023 so that its members can focus on teaching and solo careers. The quartet started as a student group at the Juilliard School and is named after Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Click here to read the article by Javier C. Hernández in The New York Times.

R.I.P. Composer Hugh Wood

British composer Hugh Wood (27 June 1932 – 14 August 2021) has died at age 89. Zara Nelsova premiered his Cello Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davies in 1969. Originally, Jacqueline du Pré showed an interest in the work, but when she lost interest, Nelsova stepped in.

Read his obituary by Leo Black in The Guardian.