The cellist took up the role in November 2024 having previously held teaching roles in Cologne and Maastricht
Gabriel Schwabe has accepted a position of cello professor at the Music Academy in Lübeck. The cellist has been teaching in the post since November 2024 and has previously held roles at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne and the Conservatorium Maastricht.
’I’m excited to join the faculty of the Academy of Music Lübeck, a school with a rich history of string teaching,’ Schwabe told The Strad. ’Following in the footsteps of giants like Shmuel Ashkenasi, Lynn Harrell or David Geringas is a wonderful challenge and I look forward to embracing the school’s traditions as well as continuing to explore my very own approach to teaching in this new and inspiring setting.’
German-Spanish cellist Schwabe is a laureate of three of the world‘s most prestigious cello competitions: the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann in Berlin, the Concours Rostropovich in Paris and the Pierre Fournier Award in London.
As a soloist he has worked with orchestras such as the London Philharmonia, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Ulster Orchestra, the NDR Radio Philharmonic, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the DSO Berlin, the Danish Chamber Orchestra, the Malmö and Norrköping Symphony Orchestras and the NCPA Orchestra Beijing with conductors such as Marek Janowski, Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, Dennis Russell-Davies, Adam Fischer, Joanna Mallwitz, Cornelius Meister, Giancarlo Guerrero, Michael Sanderling and Marc Soustrot.
He has been a chamber music partner to artists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Isabelle Faust, Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt, Kirill Gerstein, Martin Helmchen, Roland Pöntinen and Enrico Pace. In 2010 he gave his recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall. He is a regular guest at festivals such as the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Kronberg Festival, Amsterdam Biennale and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.
He has released seven albums as an exclusive recording artist for Naxos, among them a recording of the Elgar and Bridge Cello Concertos with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Christopher Ward. 2024 will see the release of the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations with Nicholas Rimmer.
Schwabe received his musical education from Catalin Ilea at the University of Arts in Berlin and with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy, with further inspiration from Janos Starker, Gary Hoffmann and Gidon Kremer. He is married to violinist Hellen Weiß and plays a cello by Giuseppe Guarneri ’ex-Boettcher’, Cremona 1695.
Listen: The Strad Podcast #107: back to basics with cellist Gabriel Schwabe
Read: Cellist Jeffrey Zeigler rejoins the faculty of the Mannes School of Music in New York
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