Pablo Ferrández

Pablo Ferrández (born 19 March 1991) is a Spanish cellist. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Spanish National Orchestra, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, the Kremerata Baltica or the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Pablo has been awarded prizes in numerous competitions: Second Prize at the International Paulo Cello Competition, Edmond de Rothschild Group Award at Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad Festival, Prix Nicolas Firmenich at the Verbier Festival, Leyda Ungerer Music Prize at the Kronberg Cello Festival and First Prize at the Liezen International Competition.

He began playing the cello at the age of three, taking lessons from his parents - his mother is a music teacher and his father is a cellist of the Spanish National Orchestra. He continued his studies with María de Macedo and Asier Polo. With only 13 years old he was granted admission to the Queen Sofía College of Music where he studied with Natalia Shakhovskaya and was awarded as the most outstanding student. In 2011 Pablo joined the Kronberg Academy Masters Program financed by a Sodalitas Stipendium, where he has been studying with Frans Helmerson. That same year he was named "Young Soloist" at the Kronberg Academy. He has also studied with renowned artists such as David Gerngas, Phillipp Müller, Gary Hoffman, Arto Noras, Ivan Monighetti and Frans Helmerson, among others.

Pablo Ferrández has worked with conductors such as Antoni Ros-Marba, Peter Csaba, Sergio Alapont, José Luis Turina, Oleg Caetani, John Axelrod and Rossen Milanov and with orchestras such as the Spanish National Orchestra, RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Kremerata Baltica, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, among others.

As a chamber musician he has performed with Rainer Schmidt, Ivry Gitlis, Gidon Kremer, Vilde Frang and Ana Chumachenco and he is a member of the Flamel Trio, that was founded at the Chamber Music Institute in Madrid.

The international career of Pablo Ferrández includes concerts held in the United States, Switzerland, Finland and Germany. He has performed at international festivals such as the Verbier Festival, Casals Festival, Festival Spivakov, Festival Internacional de Santander, Kronberg Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Festival Piatgorsky and Sommets Misicaux de Gstaad, among others.

Recently, he has become the first Spanish cellist to be loaned a Stradivarius from the Nippon Music Foundation. The Stradivarius he plays is called Lord Aylesford and is one of the oldest in the world, dating from 1696. It was played by Gregor Piatigorsky and belonged to Janos Starker. Pablo Ferrández was selected to be given the instrument by a jury composed by eminent musicians and musicologists chaired by Lorin Maazel.

• Dvorak and Schumann cello concertos with the Stuttgart Philarmonic Orchestra conducted by Radoslaw Szulc.
• Rossini and Menotti concertos, with the Kremerata Baltica conducted by Heinrich Schiff.

• "An impulsive, refined lyricism". The Guardian. 13 March 2014. 

• Second Price at the International Paulo Cello Competition (Finland), 2013.
• Edmond de Rothschild-Prize Group at the Sommet Musicaux Festival de Gstaad, 2013.
• Scholarship Pablo Casals from the Pablo Casals Foundation, 2012.
• Nicolas Firmenich Prize at the Verbier Festival (Switzerland), 2011.
• Leyda Ungerer Prize at the Kronberg Cello Festival (Germany), 2011.
• First Prize at the Liezen International Cello Competition (Austria), 2008.