James Barralet - Cellist

As joint winner of the 2007 Abstract Securities Landor Records competition, cellist James Barralet will shortly be recording his debut solo CD with Kódaly's Solo Sonata, Britten's Third Cello Suite and Roxburgh's Partita. He was also winner of the 2003 Royal Philharmonic Society Julius Isserlis scholarship which enabled him to study for three years with Thomas Demenga at Basel Hochschule für Musik, where he concluded his studies in 2006 with the Soloists Diploma. James previously studied with Hannah Roberts at the RNCM where he graduated with a first class honours degree, a professional performance diploma and a post-graduate performers diploma.He has had masterclasses with Ralph Kirshbaum, Boris Pergamenschikow, David Geringas, Miklos Perenyi, Robert Cohen and Pieter Wispelwey.

James has a broad range of musical interests - particularly North Indian Music, Eastern European folk music and free improvisation. He began his Indian music training during a six month voluntary teaching visit to the Mathieson Music School in Calcutta in 1998 and continued his studies at the Ali Akbar College of Music in Basel with the internationally renowned sarod player, Ken Zuckerman. He has formed a duo with tabla player, Sankar Chowdhury giving concerts and workshops in Europe and India. The unusual combination of cello and tabla has aroused much interest from both the Western and Indian classical music circles.

Contemporary music is important for James and he has premiered pieces by composers including Gualtiero Dazzi, Raymond Head, Isabel Klaus, Philippe Kocher and Reto Stadelman. His folk song arrangements have been performed at the Graz festival in Austria by the cello octet, Cello Furioso, as has his arrangement of Piazzolla's Four Seasons. Other arrangements have been performed at the Stratford and Warwick International festivals, amongst others.

As a soloist, James has given concerts throughout Europe, in India, Korea and the USA. He has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Bridgewater Hall, in the Purcell Room (as part of the Park Lane Group contemporary music young artist series), and twice as soloist with Basel Symphony Orchestra playing Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations.

James is represented by Margaret Murphy Management and in 2008 was selected for a Philip and Dorothy Green Making Music Award.

James has received support from the Bromsgrove International Competition, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Denne Gilkes Trust, Hattori Foundation, Martin/Philharmonia Orchestra Trust, the Muriel Taylor Cello Sholarship, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Myra Hess Trust, Rudolf von Tobel Studienstiftung, Shirley Cattaral Award, the Swiss Government (Bundesstipendium), Tillett Trust and the Wingate Foundation.

Quotes

"Mesmerizing… It is reassuring to know - through the greatness of Bach as performed by people like Mr Barralet - that there are still some eternal verities" Stratford Herald "A truly great cellist, moreover a truly great musician" Benjamin Zander "A cellist of technical brilliance and musical intelligence" Basler Zeitung

Gramophone Magazine (Jan 2008) -