Period

:

Romantic

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Concerto

 

Robert Cohen is a renowned cellist and conductor who has made a significant contribution to the world of classical music. Born on February 23, 1952, in New York City, Robert Cohen was raised in a family of musicians. His father, David Cohen, was a cellist with the New York Philharmonic, and his mother, Mildred Goodman, was a pianist. Robert Cohen began playing the cello at the age of six and showed exceptional talent from an early age. Cohen's musical education began at the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied with Leonard Rose. He later continued his studies with William Pleeth in London and with Mstislav Rostropovich in Moscow. Cohen's talent and dedication to his craft were evident from the start, and he quickly gained recognition as one of the most promising young cellists of his generation. In 1974, at the age of 22, Cohen won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, which launched his career as a soloist. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta and went on to perform with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Cohen's repertoire is vast and includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Elgar, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky, among others. He is particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Shostakovich, whose cello concerto he has performed numerous times. In addition to his solo career, Cohen is also an accomplished chamber musician. He has collaborated with many of the world's leading musicians, including pianist Martha Argerich, violinist Pinchas Zukerman, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He was a founding member of the Fine Arts Quartet and has also performed with the Guarneri Quartet and the Tokyo Quartet. Cohen's conducting career began in the 1990s, and he has since conducted many of the world's leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also served as the principal conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon in Spain. Cohen has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. In 1982, he was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant, which is given to outstanding young musicians. He has also been awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the Order of Arts and Letters of France. In 2011, he was awarded the International Classical Music Award for his recording of the Shostakovich cello concerto. One of the highlights of Cohen's career was his performance at the 1987 Proms in London, where he performed the Elgar cello concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Colin Davis. The performance was widely acclaimed, and Cohen's interpretation of the piece is considered one of the definitive recordings of the work. Cohen is also a dedicated teacher and has taught at many of the world's leading music schools, including the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Juilliard School in New York City. He is currently a professor of cello at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. In addition to his musical career, Cohen is also an avid photographer and has published several books of his photographs. His photographs often focus on the natural world and reflect his love of nature and the environment.

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