Lynn Harrell

Lynn Harrell was born in New York to musician parents. His father was the great baritone, Mack Harrell. He began his musical studies in Dallas and proceed to Juilliard Scholl and the Curtis Institute. But he had already established a solo career when, at the age of 18, he was invited by George Szell to join the Cleveland Orchestra. Two years later Mr. Szell appointed him to be principal cellist, a position he held until 1971. He has been the subsequent recipient of numerous musical awards including the Piatigorsky Award, the Ford Foundation Concert Artists Award and the first Avery Fisher Award which he shared with pianist Murray Perahia.

His presence is felt all over the musical world. A consummate soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, conductor and teacher, his work in America, Europe and Asia has placed him in the highest echelon of today’s performing artists. His is a most fitting name to appear as Shriver Hall’s first artist of 1999-2000.

Mr. Harrell performs regularly with distinguished orchestras throughout the world. In the 1997-98 season he appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic and the Berlin Radio Symphony. During this past season, he appeared with symphony orchestras in Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore, Indianapolis and Milwaukee as well as a special tour which included appearances with the Deutsches Sinfonie Orchester at London’s Royal Festival Hall and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, both with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting. He was also scheduled to tour Australia, Southeast Asia, and Japan in trio concerts with Mr. Ashkenazy and Pinchas Zukerman.

A frequent guest of many of the leading orchestras, in recent seasons Mr. Harrell has performed with the Boston and Chicago symphonies, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony (whom he guest conducted), the St. Louis Symphony at Royal Festival Hall, the London Philharmonic with Kurt Masur conducting, the Israel Philharmonic with Franz Welser-Möst conducting. Additional highlights include a two week tour to Japan with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Pinchas Zukerman, a three week "Lynn Harrell Cello Festival" with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and a return tour to Australia.

A special part of Lynn Harrell’s life is the Aspen Music Festival, where he has spent his summers performing and teaching for nearly 50 years. In the summer of 1999 he presented a unique recital program called "Songs My Father Taught Me", a tribute to his father, Mack Harrell, who was one of the earliest members of the Aspen family. Mr. Harrell is also a regular participant at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

On April 7, 1994, Lynn Harrell appeared at the Vatican with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Gilbert Levine in a concert dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The audience for this historic event, which was the Vatican's first official commemoration of the Holocaust, included Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome. Lynn Harrell also appeared live on the internationally-televised 1994 GRAMMY Awards Show with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman performing an excerpt from their GRAMMY-nominated complete Beethoven String Trios recording (Angel/EMI). The trio was the only classical nominee to perform on the show.

Lynn Harrell’s conducting career is also blossoming with recent highly acclaimed engagements with the Chicago, National, New World, San Diego and Colorado symphonies.

Mr. Harrell appeared at the Vatican on April 7, 1994 with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Gilbert Levine in a concert dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The audience for this historic event, which was the Vatican’s first official commemoration of the Holocaust, included Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome. He also appeared live that year on the internationally televised Grammy Awards Show with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, performing an excerpt from their Grammy-nominated complete Beethoven String Trios recording for Angel/EMI. The trio was the only classical nominee to appear on the show.

Mr. Harrell’s recordings are extensive and perhaps highlighted by the complete Bach Cello Suites (London/Decca), two recordings of the Dvorak Cello Concerto (RCA and London/Decca), the world premiere recording of Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto #1 with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields led by Sir Neville Marriner, the Walton Cello Concerto with Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (EMI), and the Donald Erb Concerto with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony (New World). Mr. Harrell has won two Grammy Awards - in 1981 for the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio and in 1987 for the complete Beethoven Piano Trios.

Highlights from an extensive discography of over 30 recordings include the complete Bach Cello Suites (London/Decca), two recordings of the Dvorak Concerto (RCA and London/Decca), the world premiere recording of Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto #1 with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields led by Sir Neville Marriner (London/Decca), the Walton Concerto with Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (EMI), and the Donald Erb Concerto with Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony (New World). Together with Perlman and Ashkenazy, Harrell was awarded two GRAMMY Awards — in 1981 for the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio and in 1987 for the complete Beethoven Piano Trios (both Angel/EMI). He recently collaborated with Stephen Kovacevich in recording the two Brahms cello sonatas and with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on Bella Italia: Chamber Music from Aspen (EMI), which includes a performance of Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence. A recording of the Schubert Trios with Ashkenazy and Zukerman (London/Decca) was released in 1998. His recording of the Rosza Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony (Telarc) was released in February 2000. Most recently, his recording with Kennedy, Duos for Violin & Cello, was released to great critical acclaim (EMI, May 2000).

Lynn Harrell plays the 1673 Jacqueline du Pre Stradivarius and a 1720 Montagnana. He makes his home in England and Scotland.