Music for Solo Cello

Week of March 9, 2024

Concert: J.S. Bach Suites
Suites #1, #3, #5

Contemporary Pieces by Women Composers for Solo Cello
Portrait by Jane Antonia Cornish
The Whale Song by Michelle Ross
Vetur by Melia Watras
48 Images of the Moon by Þuríður Jónsdóttir

Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir is an Icelandic-American cellist who has appeared as a soloist with the BBC Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Toronto, Seattle, and Iceland Symphonies. Her recitals and chamber music performances have taken her to some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Elbphilharmonie and the Barbican Center in London. A graduate of Juilliard, Sæunn is the creator of Cello Sound Alchemy and teaches at the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as at masterclasses and workshops around the globe. Her performances have garnered numerous prizes in international competitions, including the Naumburg Competition in New York and the Antonio Janigro Competition in Zagreb. The NY Times described her work as “charismatic” and “riveting”, and the LA Times praised her performances for their “emotional intensity”. She recently released an album of Icelandic music for solo cello, “Vernacular”, and her recording of the cello concerto “Quake” by Páll Ragnar Pálsson with the Iceland Symphony was nominated for a 2020 Grammy award. Her recording of the Six Bach Suites is scheduled for release in early 2023 on the Sono Luminus label.