Mark Kosower

Cello

One of the outstanding cellists of his generation, Mark Kosower is hailed by musicians and critics alike for his instrumental mastery and deep musical integrity.

Highlights of the current 2009/10 season include recording sessions for Naxos International including the world premiere recording of Miklós Rózsa’s Rhapsodie for Cello and Orchestra with the Budapest Concert Orchestra MAV as well as Ginastera’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, both of which are scheduled to be released in 2010. Performance highlights include solo appearances with the Mexico City Philharmonic, a Netherlands debut recital at the de Doelen in Rotterdam, and appearances in Munich and Nuremberg with the Juilliard String Quartet. In 2008/09 Mr. Kosower toured and recorded (also for Naxos) Ginastera’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Bamberg Symphony and performed the Monn Concerto with the St. George Strings in Belgrade. He also made solo and recital appearances in Phnom Penn, Rio de Janeiro, Sáo Paulo, Seoul, and throughout the United States.

In the summer of 2008 Mark Kosower saw two albums released to widespread critical acclaim: Ginastera's complete works for cello and piano, and an album of Hungarian music with works by Dohnányi, Bartók, Kodály, Popper, Liszt, and Rózsa, both for Naxos. In recent seasons he has appeared as soloist with the Florida, Seattle, Spokane, Syracuse, and Toledo symphony orchestras, performed the US premiere of Yuri Falik’s Concerto della Passione at the Peninsula Music Festival, and played recitals at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
An eloquent orchestral soloist, Mr. Kosower has appeared with the symphony orchestras of Detroit, Florida, Grand Rapids, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Phoenix, and Santa Barbara; the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. International appearances include the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the China National Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Kansai Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic, and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Kosower has collaborated with many prominent conductors such as James DePriest, Christoph Eschenbach, Joanne Falletta, Erich Kunzel, Nicholas McGegan, Anton Nanut, Stefan Sanderling, Gunther Schuller, Gerard Schwarz, Joseph Silverstein, Hugh Wolff, and Lothar Zagrosek.

As a recitalist Mr. Kosower has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at the Aspen Music Festival, and on the Great Performer’s Series at Lincoln Center. He has also given solo performances in some of the world’s most prestigious venues including the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Berlin’s Komische Oper, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, and in New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. He has recorded for Delos, Naxos, and VAI including a recording of the Walton Concerto with James DePreist and the Oregon Symphony.
A former member of Chamber Music Two, a two-year residency at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mr. Kosower makes frequent appearances at chamber music societies and festivals throughout the United States and abroad, in performances with such esteemed musicians as Robert Mann, Leon Fleisher, and Janos Starker.
Mr. Kosower has been the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, a SONY Grant, and has been a top prize winner in both the Rostropovich and Pablo Casals International Cello competitions including a special prize in both competitions for best interpretation of the newly commissioned works by Marco Stroppa and Cristóbal Halffter. He has also been the Grand Prize winner of both the Irving Klein International String Competition and the WAMSO Competition of the Minnesota Orchestra.

In addition to his performing activities Mr. Kosower is currently Solo Cellist of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany and was Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2005-07. He studied with Janos Starker at Indiana University and Joel Krosnick at the Juilliard School.