Steven Honigberg (born 17 May 1962) is an American

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 ...

. He is a member of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

and the Potomac String Quartet. From 1994-2002, Honigberg served as chamber music series director at the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

, during which time the museum produced forty concerts and issued four CDs. From 1990 to 2009, he was principal cellist and chamber music director of the Edgar M. Bronfman series in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was featured as soloist with the summer symphony in a variety of concerti. Hongiberg solos frequently; he is also known as a well-reviewed performer from David Ott's premier of ''Concerto for Two Cellos''. A native of Chicago, Honigberg presented eight performances of Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme" with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

as a 16-year-old winner of Chicago's Youth Competition. The summer before, while at Interlochen's Summer Music Camp, Honigberg, as a result of winning the 1978 Concerto Competition, performed with the World Youth Symphony as soloist in Bloch's "Schelomo", a performance that was recorded and released by the National Music Camp. Honigberg graduated from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

with a master's degree in 1984. That same year, he soloed with the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall in Strauss' ''Don Quixote'', presented his New York Debut recital as a competition winner in Carnegie Recital Hall and was chosen by

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 ...

to become a member of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. In February, 1988, Rostropovich led the National Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of the ''Concerto for Two Cellos'', by David Ott; with David Teie and Honigberg, to whom the score is dedicated, as soloists. The ''Washington Post'' wrote "...the audience gave it a five-minute standing ovation." The ''Washington Times'' reported, "It was a case of love at first hearing. Mr. Rostropovich hugged and kissed the composer and his cellists as the packed house roared its approval." A champion of the work, Rostropovich subsequently programmed the "Concerto for Two Cellos" on the NSO's 1989 and 1994 U.S. tours. The cellists have played the work 30 times with numerous orchestras. Honigberg is a member of the Washington, D.C.–based Potomac String Quartet, which released landmark projects - the complete string quartets of David Diamond (1915–2005; eleven quartets on four CDs) and Quincy Porter (1897–1966; nine quartets on two CD's). Honigberg also recorded ''Homage to Rostropovich'' (1927–2007), a CD of solo cello works written for the cellist; Frédéric Chopin's complete works for cello and piano; Ludwig van Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano; and his debut American works CD (Barber, Bernstein, Schuller, Foss, Diamond) rounds out his current discography. Honigberg is noted for explorations of new works, such as Lukas Foss' ''Anne Frank'' (1999), Benjamin Lees' ''Night Spectres'' (1999), Robert Stern's ''Hazkarah'' (1998), Robert Starer's ''Song of Solitude'' (1995), and David Diamond's ''Concert Piece'' (1993), all written for, premiered and recorded by the cellist. Honigberg is author of ''Leonard Rose: America's Golden Age and Its First Cellist'', published in 2010 and revised in 2013.

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