about

Emmanuel Feldman

Hailed by John Williams as “an outstanding cellist and truly dedicated artist,” Emmanuel Feldman has commissioned over 60 works by composers such as Harbison, Schuller, and Kernis. Described by Gramophone as “an artist who combines communicative urgency with tonal splendor,” Feldman’s recent release Our American Roots (Delos) includes the rarely heard George Walker sonata.

Feldman has performed in the U.S. and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. An enthusiastic collaborator, he has partnered in a wide range of creative projects with Bobby McFerrin, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and Verona String Quartet. Awarded grants from the Argosy and Thomson Foundations, Feldman released two world premiere recordings, one of which earned a Grammy nomination for producer Blanton Alspaugh.  

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Feldman’s recital credits include performances at Carnegie Hall, Salle Gaveau Paris, and Franz Liszt Academy in Hungary. As a concerto soloist, Mr. Feldman has performed with the Boston Pops, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, and Boston Philharmonic. He has also performed with Gilbert Kalish, Elmar Oliveira, and Paul Neubauer and in chamber music with the Jupiter and Borromeo String Quartets.

With over a dozen CDs to his credit, his critically acclaimed recordings and performances have featured music by American composers including Steve Mackey, Richard Danielpour, and David Diamond.  His “Rider on The Plains” CD featuring Virgil Thomson’s Cello Concerto was described as “sounding exhilarating in this bracing and confident performance” (N.Y. Times).

Committed to expanding the cello repertoire, Feldman has premiered concertos written for him by composers Charles Fussell and Andrew List and sonatas and solo works by John McDonald and Pamela Marshall.  As a composer, Mr. Feldman’s own compositions have been heard at venues including the Granoff Music Center, Jordan Hall, and Brown University. His “Enigma #1” written for Duo Cello e Basso was performed at the Boston Celebrity Series to critical acclaim by The Boston Globe.

A sought-after educator and clinician, Feldman’s cello students have gone on to be accepted to most major music schools and conservatories in the U.S. and abroad and have won competitions including the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition and prizes at the Brahms International, Irving Kline, and Stulberg Competitions.

Born in New York City to a large musical family, Feldman first studied the violin, piano, and French horn and then chose the cello at age 12, later studying at the Curtis Institute of Music. A skilled luthier, he is the inventor of the innovative TekPin™ cello endpin. Currently, he is on the faculty of the New England Conservatory and Tufts University and has given masterclasses at the University of Taipei, Manhattan School of Music, and Peabody Institute.  He has also taught at the International Cello Institute, VCU Global Summer Institute of Music, and Heifetz International Music Institute.