Photo: Olivia da Costa

Laura van der Heijden

CELLO
“a superstar cellist comes out of the shadows”

Richard Morrison, The Times


Representation: General Management

Admired for her captivating sonority and creative programming, Laura van der Heijden has emerged as one of the leading cellists of her generation. Her first album with Chandos Records, “Pohádka” was released in 2022 to critical acclaim.

Highlights of the coming season include touring with the Brno Philharmonic (Martinů), BBC Symphony at the Barbican as part of the George Walker ‘Total Immersion’ project conducted by Alpesh Chauhan, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Scottish with the World Premiere of a new work by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, she will tour the US with the Keleidoscope Chamber Collective,  and is also Artist in Focus at King’s Place, London performing in two contrasting chamber music recitals and CPE Bach with the Aurora Orchestra. She also gives solo and chamber recitals at Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham Music Festival and at the Bad Kissingen Festival as part of a trio ensemble.

Her engagements in recent years include concerts with leading orchestras such as Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Royal and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, European Union Chamber and English Chamber Orchestras, New Zealand Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra at the 2018 BBC Proms, and with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the opening concert of the inaugural BBC Proms Australia. She has performed at venues including the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw, Opernhaus Zürich, Wigmore Hall, LSO St Luke’s, Leeds Town Hall, Usher Hall Edinburgh, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Smetana Hall Prague, Snape Maltings, Saffron Hall, Kings Place and St George’s Bristol. She has made numerous appearances on BBC Radio 3 In Tune, and has worked with such distinguished musicians as Sir Andrew Davis, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Kirill Karabits, Ryan Wigglesworth, Huw Watkins, Krzysztof Chorzelski, the Redon Quartet and the Brodsky Quartet.

Laura was the winner of the BBC Young Musician competition aged 15. Her 2018 debut album 1948 won the 2018 Edison Klassiek Award and the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Newcomer of the Year Award. The disc, featuring Russian music for cello and piano with pianist Petr Limonov, has been hailed as a “a thought-provoking debut disc from an impressive and intelligent young cellist” (Gramophone).

Also a passionate chamber musician, Laura is a key member of the member of the critically-acclaimed Kaleidoscope Collective alongside Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, who perform a wide variety of captivating repertoire across the UK and beyond with highlights this season including the Wigmore Hall and their debut US tour. She also regularly collaborates with the likes of Jâms Coleman, Timothy Ridout, Katya Apekisheva and Max Baillie, and has given recitals at the Wigmore Hall, West Cork and Beverley Chamber Music Festivals, Harrogate International Festival, the Cheltenham Festival, Music In The Round, Oxford’s Holywell Music Room and at the Oxford Lieder Festival. In Summer 2023 she will also perfom in the Miesbach Festival, Germany.

Laura is a graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge and currently studying for a Masters with Antje Weithaas at the Hans Eisler in Berlin. She plays a late 17th-century cello by Francesco Ruggieri of Cremona, on generous loan from a private collection.

Artist Website: www.lauravanderheijden.org

Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact James Brown Management to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.  Email: Andrea McDermott

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News

Laura announced as ‘Artist in Focus’ at Kings Place

October 3rd, 2022

Kings Place has today announced an exciting new partnership with Laura van der Heijden as their ‘Artist in Focus’ across 2023. She will perform in recital with Jåms Colman (20 April), CPE Bach Concerto with the Aurora Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon (17 June) and a ‘Dulcimer’ project on 4 October 2023 where she joinsRead more ›

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New Release: Pohádka

February 18th, 2022

Laura van der Heijden has released her debut album on Chandos Records, exploring the rich musical heritage of Bohemia, with pianist Jâms Coleman. Laura writes: “Jâms and I first met in 2017, when I was mesmerised by the sensitivity of his musicianship and the colours he managed to create on the piano. Our first concertRead more ›

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Laura van der Heijden signs exclusive contract with Chandos Records

October 11th, 2021

The BBC Young Musician winner’s first release for the label explores the rich folk melodies of Kodály, Dvořák and Janáček, together with pianist Jâms Coleman (due for release February 2022). Laura van der Heijden comments: “I am so excited to be joining such a wonderful roster of artists at Chandos. It is an honour toRead more ›

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Reviews

Hallé Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, March 2022

” Still only 24, she now sounds wonderful. This performance of Walton’s Cello Concerto was by turns poised and pert, wistful and lyrical, tautly driven and expansively rhapsodic — but always played with exemplary intonation and technical finesse … I relished a performance that let the music speak for itself, reserving big outbursts of emotion for the two eruptive quasi-cadenzas in the finale.”

Richard Morrison, The Times, ****

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Discography

Pohádka – Tales from Prague to Budapest

Laura van der Heijden (cello) and Jâms Coleman (piano)

CHANDOS RECORDS  (2022)

1948: Russian Works for Cello & Piano

With Laura van der Heijden (cello) and Petr Limonov (piano)

CHAMPS HILL RECORDS (2017)

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Artist Manager

Laura Baker
lb@jamesbrownmanagement.com
+44 (0) 7999 027026

Assistant Artist Manager

Andrea McDermott
am@jamesbrownmanagement.com