Biography

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For Andrei Ioniță, life, music and the arts are never direct, but pave their own way of expression. The Times of London calls him “one of the most exciting cellists to have emerged for a decade”; the British Gramophone “a cellist of superb skill and musical imagination and a commitment to music of our time.”

Ioniță was born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1994. He first became a student of Ani-Marie Paladi and later of Prof. Jens Peter Maintz at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin. In 2015, he won the Gold Medal at the internationally renowned Tchaikovsky Competition. He became a laureate of ARD, Hachaturian and Feuermann competitions. From 2016 to 2018, the BBC of London awarded him the title of "New Generation Artist", which promoted his popularity in the UK. Followed by that, Andrei held performances with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Andrei Ioniță has collaborated with an extensive network of European orchestras, among them the Munich Philharmonic, the Dresden Philharmonie, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Philharmonie of Nürnberg, the Czech Philharmonie and many others.

His musicianship led him on tours through the US, where he performs with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Diego and Grand Rapids.

He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Herbert Blomstedt, Paavo Järvi, Cristian Macelaru, Joanna Mallwitz, Sylvain Cambreling, Kent Nagano, Michael Sanderling, Sascha Goetzel and Jonathan Bloxham.

Andrei Ioniță’s exceptional talent makes of him a versatile and sought-after performer of chamber music. In his concerts, he joins forces with Martha Argerich, Christian Tetzlaff, Sergei Babayan, and Steven Isserlis among others. He is often invited to world-class concert venues and festivals within the world of classical music. “The music magically develops and flows out to the audience where it speaks directly to the soul”, says Ioniță.

Orchestral highlights of the 24/25 season include performances with the Orquesta Sinfonia Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), the Saarland State Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra both under the direction of Ruth Reinhardt, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc with a tour lasting several days, the BBC Philharmonic under the direction of Ben Gernon, the Antalya State Orchestra under the direction of Marzena Diakun, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Geoffrey Robson and others.

As a sought-after chamber musician, Andrei will be a guest at the BBC in London in September 2024 with a residency lasting several days. In Germany, he will perform in an ensemble (Beethoven septet formation) with Franziska Hölscher, Sebastian Manz, Felix Klieser and other renowned partners in Grünwald, Nuremberg, Bamberg, the Schumann Saal Düsseldorf and the Brucknerhaus Linz. A new duo recital collaboration with pianist Nathalia Milstein will take him to Bamberg for the second time. Further invitations to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Utah Chamber Music Festival and the Intonations Festival are also part of his current season.

On his highly acclaimed first solo CD "Oblique Strategies", Ioniță presents a world premiere by Brett Dean alongside pieces by Bach and Kodály. His interpretations create an immense range of timbres, registers and techniques that showcase the cello. These “Oblique Strategies” are necessary to make music and the arts shine.

Andrei himself remarks, “the instrument will eventually find the musician who is destined for it”. He plays a violincello by Filippo Fasser from Brescia, Italy.

Amendments to the biography may not be made on an independent basis.