Robert Cohen (born 15 June 1959) is a British concert cellist.

Early life and education [ edit ]

Cohen was born on 15 June 1959 in London to violinist Raymond Cohen and pianist Anthya Rael . ^[1] Having begun playing the cello at age 5, at age 10 he entered the Purcell School for Young Musicians . ^[2] He also began studies with William Pleeth . ^{[3] [4]} At age 12 he made his concerto debut at the Royal Festival Hall , where he performed the Boccherini Concerto in B flat . His Wigmore Hall recital debut followed at age 17. ^[5] In 1975 he began studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama , he graduated with a postgraduate Diploma of Advanced Solo in 1977. During this period he also studied with Jacqueline du Pre , Andre Navarra and Mstislav Rostropovich . ^[6]

Career [ edit ]

In 1976 he made his recording debut with the Elgar Cello Concerto and the London Philharmonic Orchestra , which went on to receive a Silver Disc for recording sales. ^[5] In 1984 he bought a Stradivarius cello, the Bonjour , which he kept until 1993.

He has been invited to perform concertos by conductors Claudio Abbado , Antal Dorati , Sir Mark Elder , Mariss Jansons , Sir Charles Mackerras , Jerzy Maksymiuk , Kurt Masur , Riccardo Muti , Sir Roger Norrington , Tadaaki Otaka , Sir Simon Rattle , Stanisław Skrowaczewski , Michael Tilson-Thomas and Osmo Vanska . He has notably collaborated in chamber music with Yehudi Menuhin , Amadeus Quartet , Menahem Pressler , Leonidas Kavakos and Krystian Zimerman and with his regular duo partner pianist Heini Karkkainen . ^[7]

From 2000 to 2012 Cohen was Professor of Advanced Solo Studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana , Lugano. In 2010 he became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music . ^[7] He gives masterclasses internationally and lectures on music preparation and performance techniques.

In 1989 he became artistic director of the Charleston Manor Festival . ^[8] The final festival took place in the summer of 2012.

Cohen was the cellist of the Fine Arts Quartet from October 2011 until January 2018. ^[9]

Composer Sally Beamish has dedicated two works to Cohen, the cello concertos 'River' (1997), inspired by the eponymous 1983 anthology by Ted Hughes , and 'Song Gatherer' (2009). ^[10]

In 2000 he directed a series on Les Six as part of the City of London Festival. ^[11]

In 2014 he created the ongoing monthly programme ‘On That Note’ with Milwaukee Public Radio (NPR), which discusses the life of a working classical musician. ^[12]

In 2020 he became an Ambassador of the Tim Henman Foundation. ^[13]

Personal life [ edit ]

Married in 1987, Cohen lives with his wife in London. They have four sons.

Awards [ edit ]

• Suggia Prize for potential soloists - annually 1967-1971. ^[14]
• Piatigorsky Prize, Tanglewood 1978. ^[5]
• Winner of Young Concert Artists, New York 1978. ^[15]
• Winner of Unesco International Competition, Czechoslovakia 1981. ^[16]
• Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (HonRAM) in 2009. ^[17]
• Robert Helpmann Award, Australia 2005 - performing Brett Dean's 12 Angry Cellos. ^[18]

Discography [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Interview with ICS (Internet Cello Society) by Tim Janof
• Charleston Manor Festival