Competition Archives

Conversation with Nathaniel Rosen (March, 1996)

Interview by Tim Janof Nathaniel Rosen, former Teaching Assistant for Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of Southern California, is renowned for being the only American cellist to ever win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia. Mr. Rosen is in much demand as a soloist, recording artist, and chamber musician. He teaches at the Manhattan School of Music and the Thomas More College in New Hampshire. TJ: Eleonore Schoenfeld, Professor of Cello at USC, was your first teacher. What was she like? NR: I studied cello with her from the beginning, starting with open strings. She was well organized and patient, but still very demanding. Because of this, she has become one of the best in the business. The finest young talents from all over the world seek her guidance. She stressed [...]

By Tim Janof|2021-01-25T16:36:50-05:00January 17th, 2021|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Interviews, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: intonation, Competition, Bach Cello Suites, expressive intonation, Eleonore Schoenfeld, Interpretation, Gregor Piatigorsky|

Conversation with Sara Sant’Ambrogio (January, 2005)

Interview by Tim Janof Grammy Award-winning Sara Sant'Ambrogio first leapt to international attention when she won the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Violoncello Competition in Moscow, Russia. As a result of her medal, Carnegie Hall invited Ms. Sant'Ambrogio to perform a recital that was filmed by CBS News as part of a profile about her, which aired nationally. Bernard Holland of The New York Times described Ms. Sant'Ambrogio's New York debut as "sheer pleasure." Ms. Sant'Ambrogio has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as Atlanta, Boston Pops, Chicago, Dallas, Moscow State Philharmonic, the Osaka Century Orchestra (Japan), St. Louis, San Francisco and Seattle; she has performed throughout the world at major music centers and festivals including Aspen, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the Konzert Huset in Stockholm, Marlboro, [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-03-01T17:56:16-05:00October 27th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Competition, Interviews, Performance|Tags: Tchaikovsky Competition, Tchaikovsky, Eroica Trio, Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello, Competition|

Behind the Scenes with Brannon Cho

We are thrilled to introduce you to Brannon Cho, First Prize Winner of the 2018 Paulo International Cello Competition. In this conversation Brannon takes us behind the scenes offering insight into his preparation, mindset, and aspirations. Blogmaster: Can you give us insight as to how the competition felt for you? Did you play as you aspired to? Brannon Cho: The competition was quite exhausting. As opposed to other competitions I’ve done in the past there was almost no time to rest between rounds. In some ways I appreciated it because it was similar to the concert schedule of a touring soloist. As a soloist, every two days you have a big concert. In contrast, in Belgium last year I would sometimes have a week before I played the next [...]

By Blogmaster|2021-07-05T18:34:38-04:00December 1st, 2018|Categories: Competition, Interviews, In the Practice Room, News, Performance, Self Discovery|Tags: Practice Room, Competition, Paulo Cello Competition, Brannon Cho, Practice, Preparation|

Isang Yun International Cello Competition Announces 2018 Prize Winners

Isang Yun International Cello Competition Winners Announced! Christine Jeong Hyoung Lee of Korea and Sang Eun Lee of Korea share the First Prize in the 2018 Isang Yun International Cello Competition. When the scores of an international jury of nine were tallied, the two received mathematically identical scores. Each received $25,000. Lev Sivkov of Russia received Third Prize and $10,000 for his performance of the Dvorak Concerto. Christine Jeong Hyong Lee performed the following program in the three rounds: First Round Program J. S. Bach: Prelude and Sarabande from Suite for Cello Solo No. 4 BWV 1010 Benjamin Britten: Suite for Cello Solo No. 1 Op. 72 (7th, 8th and 9th movements only) Isang Yun: Glissees for Solo Cello (1970) Second Round Program Isang Yun: EspaceⅠ(1992) L. v. Beethoven: Sonata for Cello [...]

By Blogmaster|2018-11-03T21:11:38-04:00November 3rd, 2018|Categories: Competition, News, Performance|Tags: cello, Competition, isang yun, isang yun cello competition|

Queen Elisabeth Competition Adds 2017 Cello Discipline!

Reposted from the Queen Elisabeth Competition In 2017, the Queen Elisabeth Competition will hold a competition devoted to the cello. The decision to launch a new competition, dedicated to the cello, was a natural one, taken after meeting with a number of outstanding young cellists and against a background of worldwide enthusiasm for the instrument today. Despite this enthusiasm, it seems that the international scene has lacked a major competition devoted to the cello; the cellists approached by the Competition over recent months have reacted very favourably to the idea of establishing a competition along the same lines as the others organised by the Queen Elisabeth Competition. The incorporation of this new discipline is sure to receive a very warm welcome from music professionals, from our extensive public, and from the [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T05:08:02-04:00January 22nd, 2015|Categories: Competition, News, Pablo Casals|Tags: cellobello, Competition, CelloBlog, 2017, Belgium, Brussels|

New England Conservatory Cellist Tony Rymer Wins Second Prize in Enescu Cello Competition

Cellist Eun-Sun Hong (South Korea), has won the 15,000 Euro First Prize at the 2014 Enescu Cello Competition in Bucharest, Romania. New England Conservatory cellist Tony Rymer (USA) received the 10,000 Euro Second Prize and Sarah Rommel of USC (USA), the 5000 Euro Third Prize. Eun-Sun Hong has performed with important international orchestras such as The Seoul Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Russia Philharmonic, and the South Korean Chamber Orchestra. At only 25, she won the Third Prize in the Tschaikovsky International Competition. Eun-Sun Hong Cellist Tony Rymer has already performed major concerti to critical acclaim with the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Pops, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony, among others. A native of Boston, Tony attended the Walnut Hill Arts School and then NEC, where he studied many years with CelloBello founder Paul Katz, and [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T05:05:40-04:00September 25th, 2014|Categories: Competition, News|Tags: USA, cello, Competition, South Korea, Enescu, Eun-Sun Hong, Romania, Tony Rymer|

Competitions ≠ Success: A Student Perspective — by Lev Mamuya

Not all competitions are created equal. There are good ones and bad ones, and good and bad reasons for entering. Many kids are raised to be competitive, both musically and in school. Kids can feel pressure to do competitions from parents, teachers and peers. Sometimes it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking success can only be measured by winning competitions and that a career in music and admission to a good school are impossible without numerous wins. Competitions are good for many things, but they should not define success. They often consist of just one performance, on one particular day; success is something you achieve over many years through work and dedication. Since most competitions, at the most, will be three rounds over a short period of time, [...]

By Lev Mamuya|2017-08-04T04:54:24-04:00April 8th, 2012|Categories: Competition, High School Blogs, Self Discovery|Tags: master classes, Lev, Mamuya, cello, motivation, cellobello, improvement, music, pressure, Auditions, knowledge, Practice, ego, organization, performance, Competition, success, Accomplishment|

The F-Word — by Aron Zelkowicz

“Do you play with a regular ensemble?” the lady at Kinko’s asked me. Lately I’ve noticed this to be one of the routine first questions that new acquaintances throw my way, especially in New York. My theory is that music aficionados latch on to this question, while novices (often in airports, as we can all testify) tend to focus on the size of the cello case and the hilarity of imagining something else inside it: an AK-47, King Kong’s tennis racket, mother. In this instance my cello was not with me, but the scraps of dissected scores scattered across the work station easily gave away my vocation. She asked, “Do you play with a regular ensemble?”, which is exactly the wording that gets me like a deer in headlights. The [...]

By Aron Zelkowicz|2021-09-10T16:21:12-04:00May 11th, 2011|Categories: Beyond the Traditional, Interpersonal Relationships, Self Discovery|Tags: cello, cello case, social, cellobello, Competition, string quartets, music, freelance, Auditions, fundraising, masterclasses, repertoire, New York City, orchestral tours, ensemble, orchestras, Teaching, chamber music, radio, career, routine, musician, environment, self-improvement|