Emmanuel Feldman (born 1965)Karissa S. Wang, "Husband-wife duo's music is really deep," ''

The Patriot Ledger ''The Patriot Ledger'' is a daily newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts, that serves the South Shore. It publishes Monday through Saturday. Known for its thorough news coverage of the 26 communities south of Boston, ''The Patriot Ledger'' has won ...

'', June 1, 1994. is an American classical cellist and teacher based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the co-founder of the cello-

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

duo Cello e Basso, and a member of the Aurea Ensemble.

Early life and education

Feldman was born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He studied at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

.James Reel, "Chatting With Emmanuel Feldman," ''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...

'', vol. 30, no. 2, November/December 2006.

Career

As part of completing his studies in Paris, Feldman joined l'Orchestre des Prix, and was the first American ever in the orchestra. After his time in France, he moved to Boston, where he became the principal cellist in the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in 1990, at the age of 23. He left in 1993 to focus on his solo career. In 1992, Feldman and his wife Pascale Delache-Feldman formed Axiom Duo, with Feldman on cello and Delache-Feldman on double bass. As pioneers of the cello-double bass combination, they had to devise their own music by writing original pieces and transcribing music from other composers to fit their low-pitched instruments. Their self-titled debut was released in 2002.Andi Beckendorf, "Axiom Duo," International Society of Bassists, vol. 26, no. 1, 2002, pp. 67-68. The album features works originally written for cello and bass, along with their own transcriptions of pieces by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, Bartók and

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his train ...

. They later renamed the duo Cello e Basso. In 2006, Feldman released ''Rider on the Plains'', named after the subtitle of the first movement of

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassi ...

's 1950 ''Cello Concerto'', which is featured on the album.

Anthony Tommasini Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...

"Rustic Streams Hiding Complicated Traditions,"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 14, 2007. Feldman first heard of the piece in the late 1990s after speaking with

, Thomson's biographer. Feldman found it to be "an undiscovered gem of American cello repertoire." The album also includes two works by Charles Fussell, which Feldman commissioned in 2002 to record alongside Thomson's work. On the album, Feldman is joined by the

New England String Ensemble New England String Ensemble was founded in 1993 by violinist Peter Stickel and cellist John Bumstead to champion strings in performance and education and is one of the country's leading professional string orchestras. The ensemble consists of 26 p ...

and Nashville Chamber Orchestra. ''Rider on the Plains'' was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Classical category for producer

Blanton Alspaugh Blanton Alspaugh (born 1959) is an American record producer, specialised in classical recordings. He has so far (the 64th Grammy Awards season) won 11 Grammy Awards. Alspaugh earned a bachelor's of science degree in music education from Tennessee ...

. Feldman's second album, ''Our American Roots'', was released in 2013. It features

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's '' Three Preludes'', arranged for cello and piano by Feldman, as well as renditions of music by

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

and George Walker. As a composer, Feldman's original compositions include the three-movement "Enigma No. 1", written for cello and bass, and "Synergy", written for string orchestra. Feldman has performed as the principal cellist in the Boston Philharmonic and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra; as a soloist with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Emmanuel Music, Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble, New England String Ensemble, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra,Richard Pachece, "NBSO opens with 'intense, provocative' performance," '' The Standard-Times'', October 22, 1996. and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project; and alongside

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also ra ...

Borromeo String Quartet The Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber mu ...

,Emmanuel Feldman: Cello
Killington Music Festival. Accessed January 3, 2018. David Deveau, Marcus Thompson and

Gilbert Kalish Gilbert Kalish (born July 2, 1935) is an American pianist. He was born in New York and studied with Leonard Shure, Julius Hereford and Isabelle Vengerova. He was a founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, a pioneering new music g ...

. He is a faculty member at Boston's

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

, where he was the cello teacher of Zlatomir Fung, and at the Department of Music at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learnin ...

, and has also taught cello at Brown University and the

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth or UMassD) is a public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the southernmost campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Formerly Southeastern Massachusetts U ...

Personal life

Feldman and his wife, Pascale Delache-Feldman, a double bassist, are based in Boston, Massachusetts.Richard Buell
"Citizen Feld Celebrates the Sounds of the City,"
''Boston Globe'', May 26, 2001. They met while studying at the Curtis Institute of Music.

Discography

Albums

Appears on

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Emmanuel 1965 births Living people American classical cellists Curtis Institute of Music alumni Conservatoire de Paris alumni Tufts University faculty New England Conservatory faculty University of Massachusetts Dartmouth faculty Musicians from Boston Musicians from New York City Classical musicians from New York (state) Classical musicians from Massachusetts