Raphael Wallfisch
Cellist Raphael Wallfisch has a large repertory, especially strong on British composers, but not at all limited to them. He has made numerous recordings for Chandos and other labels.
Wallfisch was born in London on June 15, 1953. His father, Peter Wallfisch, was a pianist, and his mother, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, was a notable cellist. Raphael began his musical studies on the violin and piano but switched to the cello at eight after hearing a concert by cellist Zara Nelsova. Wallfisch studied as a teen with Amaryllis Fleming and for a year with Amadeo Baldovino in Italy. He attended the Royal Academy of Music from 1970 to 1973, studying with Derek Simpson. Wallfisch moved to California for further studies with Gregor Piatigorsky, who arranged for him to perform in private recitals with violinist Jascha Heifetz. In 1977, Wallfisch took first prize at the Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Florence, Italy, and soon after that, he launched what quickly became an international career. In the 1980s and early '90s, he played in a duet with his father, Peter. Wallfisch's recording career began in the LP era on the Chandos label; among his early albums was a 1982 release devoted to Samuel Barber's Cello Concerto and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107.
Wallfisch's concert career has been international. He has appeared with virtually all of the major British orchestras and on the European continent with such major ensembles as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the Bergen Philharmonic. He has performed in the U.S. with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Minnesota Orchestra and farther abroad with the Sydney Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, and Singapore Symphony, as well as other groups. Wallfisch performs as part of the Amici della Musica, which he founded, and the Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch with Hagai Shaham (violin) and Arnon Erez (piano); the latter group performed the complete Beethoven trios at Wigmore Hall in 2020. In addition to Chandos, he has recorded for Naxos (a complete cycle of the Vivaldi cello concertos), Nimbus, CPO, and many other labels. Wallfisch often performs at the Jewish Museum in Berlin and has recorded a series of works by Jewish refugee composers, "Voices in the Wilderness," for CPO. In 2023, he released the album Jonathan Dove: In Exile on Lyrita with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and baritone Simon Keenlyside. By that time, his catalog comprised some 100 recordings.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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G. Bush: Pieces for Orchestra
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch, Nicholas Ward
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 1 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Metcalf: Mapping Wales, Plain Chants & Cello Symphony
Catrin Finch, Raphael Wallfisch
Classical - Released by Nimbus Records on 9 Aug 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie n° 7 en ré mineur - Rhapsodie irlandaise n° 3 - Pièce de concert pour orgue & orchestre
Ulster Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch, Gillian Weir, Vernon Handley
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Jun 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rebecca Clarke: Music for Cello & Piano
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 12 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Music for Cello & Orchestra
Geoffrey Simon, English Chamber Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Concertos, Vol. 2
Raphael Wallfisch, Keith Hurvey, City Of London Sinfonia, Nicholas Kraemer
Classical - Released by Naxos on 8 Feb 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weigl: Cello Concerto, Cello Sonata & Other Works
Raphael Wallfisch, Konzerthausorchester Berlin , John York, Edward Rushton, Nicholas Milton
Classical - Released by CPO on 7 Jun 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ireland: Music for String Orchestra
Raphael Wallfisch, Orchestra of the Swan, David Curtis
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Apr 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt, Dohnányi & Kodály : Music for Cello & Piano
Duets - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moeran: Cello Concerto & Sinfonietta
Raphael Wallfisch, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Norman Del Mar
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1 May 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poèmes symphoniques Vol.2
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch, Neeme Järvi, Edwin Paling, John Harrington
Symphonic Poems - Released by Chandos on 1 May 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinů: 3 Cello Sonatas & 7 Arabesques
Chamber Music - Released by Nimbus Records on 5 Feb 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Cello Concertos
Raphael Wallfisch, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, William Boughton
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 1 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voices in the Wilderness: Cello Concertos by Exiled Jewish Composers
Raphael Wallfisch, Konzerthausorchester Berlin , Nicholas Milton
Classical - Released by CPO on 27 Oct 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jonathan Dove: In Exile
Simon Keenlyside, Raphael Wallfisch, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gergely Madaras
Chamber Music - Released by Lyrita on 3 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Andrzej Panufnik: Concertos (Symphonic Works, Vol. 8)
Alexander Sitkovetsky, Raphael Wallfisch, Ewa Kupiec, Konzerthausorchester Berlin , Łukasz Borowicz
Classical - Released by CPO on 5 Aug 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Cello Concerto and Works for Cello & Piano
Classical - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres orchestrales (Volume 1)
Lydia Mordkovitch, Raphael Wallfisch, Margaret Fingerhut, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Sep 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bloch: Music for Cello & Piano
Chamber Music - Released by Nimbus Records on 5 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Apocalisse / Fantaisie pour violoncelle / Suite "Sebastian"
Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch, Richard Hickox
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 2001
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Miklos Rozsa: Cello Concerto; Sinfonia Concertante
Raphael Wallfisch, Philippe Graffin, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo