Sol Gabetta

Sol Gabetta rose to prominence as one of the standout cellists of the early twenty-first century, forging a broad international presence through solo engagements and an expanding catalog of recordings. Although she first attracted notice for interpretations of the core concerto and chamber repertoire, she has actively promoted new music by figures ranging from Takemitsu to Ligeti and Vasks. In 2021 she appeared on Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s album Plaisirs Illuminés: Veress, Ginastera, Coll.

Born on April 18, 1981, in Villa María, Cordoba, Argentina, Gabetta relocated to Spain at the age of twelve to pursue her studies. She subsequently captured several major prizes, among them the Natalia Gutman Award at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and first place at the ARD competition in Munich. International recognition arrived after she received the Crédit Suisse Young Artist Award, leading to her appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev at the 2004 Lucerne Festival. She has since appeared with leading ensembles such as the Royal Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, collaborating with conductors including Neeme Järvi, Charles Dutoit, and Christoph Eschenbach. In 2005 she joined the faculty of the Musikhochschule in Basel, Switzerland, and the following year she launched the Solsberg Festival, an annual chamber-music series. Several composers have written for her, notably Wolfgang Rihm, whose Concerto en Sol received its premiere from Gabetta in 2020.

Her recordings have appeared primarily on Sony Classical, with additional releases on Deutsche Grammophon and Decca. These albums have earned five Echo Klassik Awards and a Diapason d’Or. Grammy nominations followed her 2007 account of concertos by Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, and Ginastera, and again in 2013 for the album Duo recorded with Hélène Grimaud. Gabetta released a Schumann recital in 2018 and reunited with Kopatchinskaja on the Alpha label in 2021 for a recording of Francisco Coll’s Les Plaisirs illuminés.