Amit Peled
Cellist

Biography

"...Peled did a lot of joking in remarks to the audience; he's a funny guy. His amiable and inviting personality is exactly the type everyone says we'll need more of if classical music is to survive..."
Baltimore Sun (full review)

"The flair of the young Rostropovich"
American Record Guide

From the United States to Europe to the Middle East and Asia, Israeli cellist Amit Peled, a musician of profound artistry and charismatic stage presence, is acclaimed as one of the most exciting instrumentalists on the concert stage today.

Mr. Peled, who was recently described by the American Record Guide as “Having the flair of the young Rostropovich”, has performed as a soloist with many orchestras and in the world’s major concert halls, such as: Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, New York; Salle Gaveau, Paris; Wigmore Hall, London; Konzerthaus, Berlin; and Tel Aviv's Mann Auditorium.
Following his enthusiastically received Alice Tully Hall concerto debut playing the Hindemith cello concerto, the New York Times described his playing: "glowing tone, a seductive timbre and an emotionally pointed approach to phrasing that made you want to hear him again".

Peled’s last season culminated with a much anticipated recital debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington and two performances of the Penderecki Cello Concerto in Chicago's Millennium Park with the legendary composer conducting.

In the 2011/12 season Mr. Peled will perform ten different concertos with many orchestras around the world. Some of the highlights will be a US/Germany tour with the Nordwest Philharmonie, performing both Shostakovich concerto no. 1 and Herbert concerto in nineteen different cities. Besides that tour he will perform the Britten Symphony for cello and orchestra with Maestro Michael Stern, the Elgar concerto in Chicago, the Schumann concerto with the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Boccherini Concerto in B flat with Maestro Nicola Luisotti and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Mr. Peled has just released two critically acclaimed CDs: “The Jewish Soul” and “Cellobration” under the Centaur Records Label. Fanfare Magazine stated: “By all evidence, Amit Peled is a superb cellist. His technical prowess in the Davidoff and Ligeti vouchsafe that; and his tone, of pellucid purity, gleams with a glint of gold in the slow, lyrical numbers.” In the summer of 2011 Peled's third Centaur Records CD will be released with both Elgar Concerto and Bloch's Schelomo.

Mr. Peled is also a frequent guest artist, performing and giving master classes at prestigious summer music festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Newport Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute, Schleswig Holstein Festival and Euro Arts Festival in Germany, Gotland Festival in Sweden, Prussia Cove Festival in England, The Violoncello Forum in Spain, and the Mizra International Academy and Festival in Israel.
Amit Peled has been featured on television and radio stations throughout the world, including NPR’s “Performance Today”, WGBH Boston, WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, Deutschland Radio Berlin , Radio France , Swedish National Radio & TV, and Israeli National Radio & TV.
One of the most sought after cello pedagogues in the world, Mr. Peled is a Professor at the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University.

For more information visit: www.amitpeled.com
YouTube Video (click here)

Acclaim by the National and International Press

"Simply gorgeous sound"
The Baltimore Sun

"Overwhelmed us with waves of emotion"
Ha'aretz, Israel

"How can anything be better than this?"
Pitea-Tidningen, Sweden

"He has the flair of the young Rostropovich"
American Record Guide

"Mr. Peled expressed a dark-hued cello sound and rendered the lyrical theme that begins the Adagio with dreaminess."
New York Times

"Fiery and intelligent, Peled really shone in a bold and dramatically conceived interpretation"
Strad Magazine, London

"Every movement was imbued with its own shade of resigned solemnity"
Washington Post