Maria Kliegel

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Maria Kliegel (born: November 14, 1952) is one of the leading cello virtuosos of our time. Her international career began when she won the "Grand Prix" of the :Concours Rostropovich" in 1981 in Paris. She is also one the best-selling cellist world wide, and her recordings are always welcome with enthusiasm. During one of the recording sessions of Schnittke's first concerto for violoncello and orchestra, the Russian composer came to acknowledge that as the standard recording of this work. Her many recordings for Naxos include concertos and other cello works by Beethoven, Bloch, Brahms, Bruch, Dohnányi, Dvořák, Elgar, Lalo, Saint-Saëns, Shostakovich, Robert Schumann, John Taverner and Tchaikovsky. She has also recorded a large volume of chamber music by Brahms, Chopin, Demus, Gubaidulina, Kodaly, Felix Mendelssohn and Schubert. She will be recording Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano, Haydn's cello concertos and Bach's solo cello suites.

Maria Kliegel appears regularly as a guest soloist with leading orchestras at major concert venues all over the world. She has an exceptionally wide repertoire in her command: from the great masterpieces of the past to outstanding compositions by contemporary composers. Her versatility and her interest to explore new repertoire has repeatedly stimulated contemporary composers to write music for her. For example, she initiated the work Hommage a Nelson by Wilhelm Kaiser-Lindermann, dedicated to Nelson Mandela. As a result of the composition's success Maria Kliegel was invited by the former South African President to give a private recital. Maria Kliegel also takes care of the next generation of cellists. She has been teaching master classes at the Cologne Music Academy since 1986.

She plays the legendary violoncello "ex Gendron" made by Stradivarius in 1693. For more than 30 years, it was owned by Maurice Gendron and was eventually put at her disposal by the Kunststiftung in NRW (Foundation for the Arts and Culture in North Rhine Westphalia). In November 1998, she has been appointed member of the board of the Deutscher Musikrat. In 1999, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal State of North-Rhine Westphalia by Minister-President Wolfgang Clement.