WHAT’S ON
Saturday 26th October
7:00pm
St. Luke’s Church, Ramsden Road, Battersa SW12 8RQ
Alex Mackinder conductor
Daniel Brandon cello
Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
(interval)
Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43
Save the date for our second concert of 2024, featuring former National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain section principal, Daniel Brandon, who will be our wonderful soloist in Dvořák’s heartbreakingly beautiful Cello Concerto, a piece which explores the full range of emotions and which would cause Brahms himself to remark: "If I had known that it was possible to compose such a concerto for the cello, I would have tried it myself!". Concluding the concert is Sibelius' timeless and gloriously expansive Symphony No. 2, one of the most well-known and popular symphonies in the repertoire, whose last movement is one of the truly great finales in all symphonic music. We are delighted to be venturing to a new venue south of the River Thames for this programme: the beautiful surroundings of St. Luke’s Church in Battersea, home to one of the finest acoustics of any church in London.
Daniel Brandon cello
Born in London, cellist Daniel Brandon is currently based in Hannover, Germany and has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many leading venues, including Cadogan Hall and The Queen Elizabeth Hall. He has appeared as concerto soloist with the Cambridge, Essex, Aylesbury and Sutton Symphony Orchestras and the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra which included a tour of Italy in 2023 playing the Brahms Double Concerto. He also gave numerous recital appearances as a scholar on the ‘Live Music Now’ programme and as part of the ‘Weltklassik am Klavier’ concert series in Germany.
His highlights for 2024 included a wide variety of solo and chamber concerts including a debut at the Fairfield Halls performing Elgar's Cello Concerto which he then took on tour to Prague in the summer. He will also be a returning soloist with the Cambridge and Essex Symphony Orchestras to perform the Barber Cello Concerto and with the Epsom Symphony Orchestra to perform the Dvorak Cello Concerto.
A passionate orchestral musician, Daniel was principal cellist in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in the 2018-2019 season and has, over the last three years, been principal cellist in the Hannover-based Ensemble Geräuschkulisse. Daniel was one of the finalists in the ‘Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes’ and in October 2022 was awarded 2nd prize with his duo partner Jun Chen in the ‘Harald-Genzmer-Interpretationswettbewerb.’
Daniel started the cello at the age of 7 before moving to the Junior Royal College of Music to study with Michal Kazonowski aged 11. He currently studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Prof. Leonid Gorokhov. Daniel has received guidance and inspiration from many of the world’s leading cellists including Gary Hoffman, Jeroen Reuling, Colin Carr, Alexander Baillie and Wen-Sinn Yang.
Daniel plays a cello by Aaron Aupperle, made in 2021, which won the 2022 ‘Deutsche Musikinstrumentenpreis’.