Steven Isserlis

Prominent cellist Steven Isserlis produces a singular tone partly through gut strings on his instrument and frequently turns to repertoire from the Baroque and Classical eras. He has also authored multiple volumes introducing young readers to the classical tradition.

London-born on December 19, 1958, Isserlis descends from Russian composer-pianist Julius Isserlis; the elder musician, reaching Vienna in 1922, was turned away from an apartment because its 102-year-old landlady still recalled Beethoven’s habit of spitting on the floor and therefore refused another musician tenant. He counts Karl Marx and Felix Mendelssohn among his relatives. Both of his sisters pursue musical careers, and domestic music-making formed a central element of his upbringing. During his teenage years Isserlis studied with Jane Cowan at the International Cello Centre, later renamed the Edrom Casals Centre, before enrolling at Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio, where Richard Kapuscinski guided his training until graduation in 1978. By then his professional path was already underway, marked by a London debut in 1977. His first recording, issued in 1985 on the Hyperion label, presented the Brahms cello sonatas; he has remained loyal to that imprint throughout his discography even while working with other companies.

Major orchestras across the globe, among them the London Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra, have welcomed him as soloist. He has collaborated equally often with period-instrument groups, retaining his modern cello fitted with gut strings yet rehearsing with a historical bow. An ardent chamber musician, Isserlis has formed a trio alongside violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Olli Mustonen, a duo with pianist and fortepianist Melvyn Tan, and partnerships with Stephen Kovacevich, Stephen Hough, Tabea Zimmermann, and Pamela Frank. Beyond earlier repertory he champions new music; John Tavener composed The Protecting Veil expressly for him, and Isserlis has both recorded and repeatedly performed the piece. Additional scores written for him come from Wolfgang Rihm, Elizabeth Maconchy, and Thomas Adès.

Isserlis has distinguished his career by producing books aimed at young listeners, among them Why Beethoven Threw the Stew (2001), Why Handel Waggled His Wig (2006), and Robert Schumann’s Advice to Young Musicians: Revisited by Steven Isserlis (2016). He has further supplied children’s narratives that Anne Dudley has set to music. A 2017 account of the Haydn cello concertos earned a Grammy nomination. In 2021 he released The Bach Cello Suites: A Companion for adult readers; his earlier recording of those suites received the Gramophone Award for Best Instrumental Recording in 2007. His programming remains inventive, as illustrated by the 2022 album A Golden Cello Decade, 1878–1888, which juxtaposed pieces by Richard Strauss and Dvořák with works by Luise Adolpha Le Beau, Ernst David Wagner, and Isaac Nathan. At that point his catalog already exceeded fifty recordings.