Josef Feigelson (born 1954) is a concert

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

living in the United States.

Biography

Feigelson was born in 1954 in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. He is a former student of

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

and

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (; born 14 November 1942), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted to the Moscow Conservatory. She later studied with Mstislav Rostrop ...

, and the winner of the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

and

International Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition () is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1964 to 1996 with five subjects and is now held every two ...

. He performs as a soloist across the U.S. and Europe. Feigelson has recorded the unique 24 Preludes and four solo sonatas of

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. He taught him ...

, among other music. Since making his New York orchestral debut in 1988, when he stepped in on short notice to substitute for ailing violinist

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian and American virtuoso violinist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for wo ...

with the New York Chamber Symphony, Feigelson he has performed at virtually every major hall in New York City, as well as Orchestra Hall in Chicago and the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C. He was guest soloist with the

Pittsburgh Symphony The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...

Detroit Symphony The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchest ...

Chicago Sinfonietta The Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. The orchestra was founded in 1987 under the guidance of conductor and music director Paul Freeman (conductor), Paul Freeman (1936–2015) to address the disconnect be ...

Brooklyn Philharmonic There have been several organisations referred to as the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The most recent one was the now-defunct Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in existence f ...

Richmond Symphony The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia, US and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musi ...

, Charleston Symphony, and Knoxville Symphony among others. In 1990, the cellist received the

Avery Fisher Career Grant The Avery Fisher Career Grant, established by Avery Fisher, is an award given to up to five outstanding instrumentalists each year (since 2004, chamber music groups are also eligible). The Career Grants are a part of the Avery Fisher Artist Program ...

given to outstanding instrumentalists. In Europe, Feigelson has taken numerous tours of France, Germany and other Central and Eastern European countries, participating in the Schleswig-Holstein and Handelfestspiele festivals, the Tuscany Festival in Italy, Musiktreffen in St.Moritz, Switzerland, the Bach Festival in

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, the Rostropovich and Summertime festivals in

, and many other orchestral and recital performances in the United Kingdom, Austria, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Israel, and the Baltic countries. Feigelson has also appeared on television and radio, including on NPR's ''

Performance Today ''Performance Today'' is a classical music radio program, first aired in 1987 and hosted since 2000 by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations. ...

''. His 1996 performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Detroit Symphony under

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

was recorded for Eurobroadcast and aired on radio stations internationally. Feigelson has collaborated with some of the world's best known musicians, such as soprano

Barbara Hendricks Barbara Hendricks (born November 20, 1948) is an American lyric soprano and humanitarian. Born in Arkansas, Hendricks studied chemistry and mathematics at the University of Nebraska before becoming a singer. She gained acclaim for her operatic r ...

, pianists

Vladimir Feltsman Vladimir Oskarovich Feltsman (, ''Vladimir Oskarovič Feltsman'' (born 8 January 1952) is a Russian-American classical pianist descent particularly noted for his devotion to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Frédéric Chopin. Backgr ...

and

Bella Davidovich Bella Mikhaylovna Davidovich (Бэлла Миха́йловна Давидо́вич; born July 16, 1928) is a Soviet and American pianist. Biography Davidovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, into a Jewish family of musicians and began study ...

, violinist Oleh Krysa, violist

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...

, and conductors

, Gennady Rozhdestvennsky,

Lukas Foss Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. Career Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...

Lawrence Foster Lawrence Foster (born October 23, 1941) is an American conductor of Romanian ancestry. Early life Foster was born in Los Angeles, California, to Romanian parents. His father died when Foster was three years old. He was later adopted by his step ...

, Gerard Schwarz, Andre Raphel Smith,

David Amram David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.

and Moshe Atzmon. His repertoire includes more than 50 works for cello and orchestra, an equal amount of sonatas and other music including his own transcriptions. A fervent advocate of overlooked music, he made a 1996 world premiere of

's unique 24 Cello Preludes and subsequently recorded it along with the composer's Four Cello Sonatas for the

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

label. In addition to performing, Feigelson has offered master classes for string players and ensembles at the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, th ...

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown, New York, Jamestown in the western southern tier of New York (state), N ...

, Detroit Civic Orchestra,

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, Waterloo Festival, and other venues in the U.S. and abroad. He is a founder and artistic director of Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, Preludes of Pont-Aven, and The Stravinsky Circle.The Stravinsky Circle
/ref>

References

External links

*

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3D91438F932A35751C0A967958260/ Critic's Choice NY Times
1990 Avery Fisher Grant recipients
NY Times

NY Times review * ttp://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/feigel.htm/ An interview at www.cello.org
Stravinsky Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feigelson, Yosif 1954 births Living people Latvian classical cellists Latvian Jews Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Latvian-Jewish descent Aspen Music Festival and School faculty Jewish American musicians 21st-century American Jews