“An exciting young talent emerges. I would gladly buy a ticket to see Swensen on the strength of this appealing calling card."

– The Strad

Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen is the Joint 1st Prize Winner of the Naumburg International Cello Competition 2024, recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was recently featured as both Musical America’s ‘New Artist of the Month’ and ‘One to Watch’ in Gramophone Magazine. Jonathan first fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing that very piece with Portugal’s Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música.

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November 29, 2024

Jonathan Swensen wins joint 1st prize at Naumburg International Cello Competition in New York City

Jonathan wins joint 1st prize in the prestigious Naumburg International Cellocompetition

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Upcoming Schedule

COMPLETE SCHEDULE
March 5th

Feldman Concerto for Cello with the DRSO

Jonathan plays the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Morton Feldman with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Copenhagen, Denmark
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March 11th

Beethoven Triple Concerto

Jonathan will play at the Music Chapelle Gala Concert with the Brussels Philharmonic, Christian Blex, Angela Chan and Frank Braley
Brussels, Belgium
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March 21st

Schumann Celloconcerto

Jonathan will have his debut with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and Norman Huynh at the baton

Rising star of the cello, Jonathan Swensen, will take center stage with Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A Minor, a work as enigmatic as it is expressive. Unlike traditional concertos, Schumann seamlessly weaves its three movements into a continuous flow, creating a dreamlike narrative. The opening unfolds with a transcendent, almost improvisatory quality, leading into a second movement of profound lyricism.

Schubert’s final completed symphony, the monumental Symphony No. 9 in C Major, aptly nicknamed “The Great,” stands as a testament to his admiration for Beethoven. Unusually expansive for its time, this symphony unfolds over an hour, brimming with rhythmic vitality and sweeping melodic lines. Midway through, Schubert pays homage to his predecessor, subtly echoing themes from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

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