Earth, Sea, Air, British Music for Cello and Orchestra Laura van der Heijden, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra & Ryan Wigglesworth

• Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941): Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180:
• 1 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: I. Poco lento – Lento e ritmico 05:40
• 2 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: II. Allegro 04:16
• 3 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: III. Ben moderato (poco lento) – Poco lento 03:56
• 4 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: IV. Allegro giusto – Tranquillo 03:04
• 5 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: V. Ben moderato, mesto e tranquillo – Cadenza 03:12
• 6 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: VI. Allegro 02:47
• 7 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: VII. Lento 05:12
• 8 Bridge: Oration, Concerto elegiaco, H. 180: VIII. Epilogue. Andante tranquillo 02:26
• Cheryl Frances-Hoad (b. 1989): Cello Concerto 'Earth, Sea, Air':
• 9 Frances-Hoad: Cello Concerto 'Earth, Sea, Air': I. Earth 08:54
• 10 Frances-Hoad: Cello Concerto 'Earth, Sea, Air': II. Sea 07:47
• 11 Frances-Hoad: Cello Concerto 'Earth, Sea, Air': III. Air 04:39
• William Walton (1902 - 1983): Concerto for Cello and Orchestra:
• 12 Walton: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra: I. Moderato 08:41
• 13 Walton: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra: II. Allegro appassionato 06:55
• 14 Walton: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra: III. Tema ed improvvisazioni 14:29
• Total Runtime 01:21:58

Info for Earth, Sea, Air, British Music for Cello and Orchestra

Laura van der Heijden joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth for this album of British cello concertos. Frank Bridge's Oration, composed in 1929 - 30 was intended as an outcry against the inhumanity of warfare, and a tribute to the victims of the First World War. It's arch form single continuous movement exhibits the intense chromaticism typical of Bridge's output from this era. Commissioned by the Ukrainian-born cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, Walton's Cello Concerto suffered a number of difficulties with regard to first performances (Piatigorsky suffered a mental breakdown; Walton missed the UK premiere because of a nasty road accident) but it has nevertheless become a staple of the repertoire. It was with this concerto that Laura van der Heijden won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, in 2012. The young British composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and then the University of Cambridge and King's College London, and rapidly established herself as one of the most talented and prolific composers of her generation. Earth, Sea, Air was written for van der Heijden, who gave the work's premiere in Glasgow in 2023, a week before making this recording with the same forces.

Laura van der Heijden, cello
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth, conductor

Laura van der Heijden
has already made a name for herself as a very special emerging talent, captivating audiences and critics alike with the sensitivity of her sound and interpretations. This soulful and evocative artist can already look back on a number of exceptional achievements, among them being the winner – at the age of just 15 - of the BBC Young Musician competition.

Her 2018 debut album “1948”, featuring Russian music for cello and piano with pianist Petr Limonov, won the 2018 Edison Klassiek Award (broadcast live on Dutch television), and the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award. The CD has been hailed as a “dazzling, imaginative and impressive” debut recording.

In 2019, Laura graduated from Cambridge University, and is currently in the middle of a busy 2019/20 season, which sees her perform with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Aldeburgh, the Tchaikovsky Symphony in Moscow, the Prague Symphony in the UK, the London Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras in the UK, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the US.

Other highlights include performing the Saint-Saëns Concerto in the opening concert of the inaugural BBC Proms Australia with Sir Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; recitals at Wigmore Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, and Musashino Cultural Foundation in Japan; as well as her participation in the music festivals of West Cork, OCM Prussia Cove, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Krzyzowa Music.

Collaborative music-making is immensely important to Laura, and she regularly participates in international chamber music courses and festivals. She is a member of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, frequently performs with the Brodsky Quartet, and her chamber music partners have included Nicholas Daniel, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Radovan Vlatkovic, Midori, Nils Moenkemeyer, Mark Simpson, Amy Harman, Matthew McDonald, and Fazil Say. In her duo recitals, Laura collaborates with pianists Tom Poster, Jâms Coleman, Petr Limonov, Katya Apekisheva, Finghin Collins, and Huw Watkins.

Laura was born in England to Dutch-Swiss parents and gave her first public performance at the age of 9. Since 2008 she has been a student of the renowned British-Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov, and participates regularly in masterclasses with David Geringas, Ralph Kirshbaum and Miklós Perényi. In 2016 Laura was chosen by the Orpheum Stiftung in Switzerland, a foundation encouraging and assisting exceptionally talented young instrumental soloists. She is an Ambassador for both the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and Brighton Youth Orchestra.

Laura plays a late 17th-century cello by Francesco Ruggieri of Cremona, on loan from a Charitable Trust.

Booklet for Earth, Sea, Air, British Music for Cello and Orchestra