Nathaniel Rosen
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel "Nick" Rosen is an American
cellist
, former gold prize winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
, and former faculty member at the USC Thornton School of Music
and the Manhattan School of Music
.
. At the age of six, Rosen began studying with Eleonore Schoenfeld
, professor of cello at the University of Southern California
. At age 12, his teacher encouraged him to move on, first intending to study with Gabor Rejto; but, when it was announced that Gregor Piatigorsky
was joining USC, Rosen auditioned and was welcomed into his studio and the newly created Institute for Special Musical Studies at the age of 13. Growing up, he also studied chamber music with other renowned teachers who joined Piatigorsky and the institute including Jascha Heifetz
and William Primrose
.
He soon, however, began to branch out into the musical profession. While a student at USC, he became a founding member and eventually principal cellist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
. He also studied with Laurence Lesser. By age 22, the same year he graduated from USC, he had also become Piatigorsky's assistant — a post he maintained for five years. In 1977, at the age of 30, he became principal cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
as well, under André Previn
.
Nathaniel Rosen won the coveted Naumberg Competition
for cello, and presented recitals in London and New York.
in 1966 at the age of 17 and actually was a prize winner, Rosen became only the second-ever American gold prize winner after pianist Van Cliburn
at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978. He is still the only American cellist to take first prize at the competition. The victory thrust him into the forefront of the classical music circuit.
for six years. He has been a member of the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music
and also enjoys engagements with the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
in Merrimack
, New Hampshire
and Southern Methodist University
in Dallas
, Texas
.
He has soloed, among other orchestras, with the New York Philharmonic
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
, Czech Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
. He has also played at numerous chamber festivals including the Sitka
, Park City
, Manchester (VT) Music Festival and Casals Festival
s.
His important and historical cello was crafted in 1738 by Domenico Montagnana
, the "Mighty Venetian." One of the instrument's previous owners was Adrien-Francois Servais (1807–1866), the man who invented the endpin.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, former gold prize winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
International Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
, and former faculty member at the USC Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
and the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
.
Early life
Rosen grew up in a musical household, his father being an amateur violistViola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
. At the age of six, Rosen began studying with Eleonore Schoenfeld
Eleonore Schoenfeld
Eleonore Schoenfeld is considered one of the most influential cellists of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in Maribor, Slovenia to a Polish father and a Russian mother, Schoenfeld moved to Berlin with her family at age six. She proceeded to study ballet, violin, and piano before switching to cello...
, professor of cello at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. At age 12, his teacher encouraged him to move on, first intending to study with Gabor Rejto; but, when it was announced that Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
was joining USC, Rosen auditioned and was welcomed into his studio and the newly created Institute for Special Musical Studies at the age of 13. Growing up, he also studied chamber music with other renowned teachers who joined Piatigorsky and the institute including Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
and William Primrose
William Primrose
William Primrose CBE was a Scottish violist and teacher.-Biography:Primrose was born in Glasgow and studied violin initially. In 1919 he moved to study at the then Guildhall School of Music in London. On the urging of the accompanist Ivor Newton, Primrose moved to Belgium to study under Eugène...
.
He soon, however, began to branch out into the musical profession. While a student at USC, he became a founding member and eventually principal cellist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is a 40-member American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, considered by music critic Jim Svejda as "America's finest chamber orchestra".-History:...
. He also studied with Laurence Lesser. By age 22, the same year he graduated from USC, he had also become Piatigorsky's assistant — a post he maintained for five years. In 1977, at the age of 30, he became principal cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
as well, under André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
.
Nathaniel Rosen won the coveted Naumberg Competition
Walter W. Naumburg Foundation
The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation sponsors competitions and provides awards for young classical musicians in North America. It was founded in 1925 by Walter Wehle Naumburg, a wealthy amateur cellist and son of noted New York music patron and philanthropist Elkan Naumburg. Elkan Naumburg, owner of...
for cello, and presented recitals in London and New York.
Tchaikovsky Competition
Although he first entered the prestigious International Tchaikovsky CompetitionInternational Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
in 1966 at the age of 17 and actually was a prize winner, Rosen became only the second-ever American gold prize winner after pianist Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978. He is still the only American cellist to take first prize at the competition. The victory thrust him into the forefront of the classical music circuit.
Today
He taught at the University of IllinoisUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
for six years. He has been a member of the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
and also enjoys engagements with the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The college emphasizes classical education in the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Thomas More. The school has approximately 100 students.-Founding:...
in Merrimack
Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
He has soloed, among other orchestras, with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, Czech Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dresdner Philharmoniker is a symphony orchestra based in Dresden, Germany. The orchestra was founded in 1870 and gave its first concert in the Gewerbehaussaal on 29 November 1870, under the name Gewerbehausorchester. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1915...
, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
. He has also played at numerous chamber festivals including the Sitka
Sitka Summer Music Festival
The Sitka Summer Music Festival is a month-long classical chamber music festival in the community of Sitka, Alaska.-About:The festival takes place in early summer during the month of June with three groupings of musicians...
, Park City
Park City International Music Festival
The Park City International Music Festival is Utah's oldest classical music festival. Founded as the Deer Valley Music Festival in 1983, the Festival is centered around bringing renowned classical solo artists together to perform chamber music...
, Manchester (VT) Music Festival and Casals Festival
Casals Festival
The Casals Festival is a classical music event celebrated every year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in honor of world renowned musician Pablo Casals.-Background:...
s.
His important and historical cello was crafted in 1738 by Domenico Montagnana
Domenico Montagnana
Domenico Montagnana was an Italian master luthier based in Venice, Italy. He is regarded as one of the world's finest violin and cello makers of his time....
, the "Mighty Venetian." One of the instrument's previous owners was Adrien-Francois Servais (1807–1866), the man who invented the endpin.
Discography
- Nathaniel Rosen Plays Brahms with Doris Stevenson: Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
' firstCello Sonata No. 1 (Brahms)The Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38, actually entitled "Sonate für Klavier und Violoncello", was written by Johannes Brahms in 1862–5.-Background:...
and secondCello Sonata No. 2 (Brahms)The Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 was written by Johannes Brahms in 1886, more than twenty years after completing his first cello sonata...
cello sonatas, Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's "Song Without Words", and Robert SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
's "Fantasy Pieces." - Nathaniel Rosen In Concert performing Tchaikovsky's Rococo VariationsRococo VariationsRococo Variations may refer to:*Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky*Rococo Variations by Christopher Wheeldon made to the Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme...
and the First Cello Concerto by Shostakovich. - Complete works for cello and piano of Chopin with Doris Stevenson
- Complete works for cello and piano of Schumann with Doris Stevenson
- The Bach Gamba Sonatas with Anthony NewmanAnthony Newman (musician)Anthony Newman is an American classical musician. While mostly known for his virtuoso performances on the organ, Newman is also a harpsichordist, pedal harpsichordist, pianist, fortepianist, conductor, writer, and teacher...
- The Six Suites for Solo Cello of J.S. Bach
- Orientale - Short Pieces such as Elfentanz, Ritual Fire Dance, etc.
- Reverie - Romantic Short Pieces
- Music for a Glass Bead Game with Arturo Delmoni
- Sonatas of Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff with Paulian Dokovska
- David AmramDavid AmramDavid Amram is an American composer, musician, conductor, and writer. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz , ethnic and folk music has led him to work with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Langston...
- Honor Song for Sitting Bull with the Manhattan Chamber OrchestraManhattan Chamber OrchestraThe Manhattan Chamber Orchestra is a chamber orchestra based in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.The orchestra was founded in 1987 by its artistic director and conductor, Richard Auldon Clark. It performs music of all genres with a special focus on contemporary music by American... - Saint-Saens Concerto Live with the Camerata New York
- The Gallant Troubadour with Robert White, Samuel Sanders, Mark Peskanov, and Ransom WilsonRansom WilsonRansom Wilson is an American flutist and conductor. Studying at the Juilliard School in New York City, he formed a close friendship with Jean-Pierre Rampal...
- Jacques Ibert Concerto for Cello and Ten Wind Instruments with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra