Gary Hoffman

Gary Hoffman is one of the outstanding cellists of our time, combining instrumental mastery, great beauty of sound, and a poetic sensibility in his distinctive and memorable performances. Mr. Hoffman achieved international renown following his victory as the first American to win the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris in 1986. He has appeared as soloist with some of the world's most noted orchestras, including those of Chicago, London, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra and the English and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestras, collaborating with such celebrated conductors as André Prévin, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kent Nagano, Mstislav Rostropovich, Andrew Davis, Herbert Blomstedt, and Jesús López-Cobos.

Mr. Hoffman’s 2003-04 season commences with Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival; Haydn’s C Major Cello Concerto with Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Festival; Brahms’ Double Concerto with Joshua Bell and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit at Saratoga Performing Arts Center; and performances at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, OR. In addition to his many engagements in Europe, Hoffman’s U.S. season includes a short tour with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; a performance of Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with Madison (WI) Symphony; a solo Bach recital at JFK Center’s Terrace Theatre, a duo-recital in Coral Gables, FL with pianist Philippe Bianconi and a tour playing Brahms Quartets with pianist Leon Fleisher and violinists Cho-Liang Lin and Daniel Phillips.

Mr. Hoffman has most recently performed with the Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Marseilles, the Tapiola Sinfonietta in Sweden, Chamber Orchestra of Israel, Orchestre de Monte-Carlo, the Nederlands Filharmonisch Orkest, the Russian National Orchestra, and the orchestras of Turkey and Lahti in Finland. He performed under Pinchas Zuckerman and taught at the NAC young artists program in Ottawa in July 2002. His 2002-03 season included engagements with the Paris Ensemble Orchestra under John Nelson, Orchestre de Cannes, Montpellier Symphony, and the Oviedo Symphony in Spain, among others. His U.S. schedule included duo recital performances with pianist Philippe Bianconi as well as programs of the Beethoven Piano/Cello sonatas with pianist Andre-Michel Schub at the Virginia Beach Festival and La Jolla Chamber Music Society. He performed Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Jorge Mester and the Naples Philharmonic.

Mr. Hoffman has given recitals at Alice Tully Hall, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Theatre du Chatelet, Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, Teatro Pergola in Florence, the Tivoli in Copenhagen, the Gulbenkian in Lisbon, the St. Lawrence Center in Toronto, and McGill University in Montreal.

A much sought-after performer at summer festivals, he has been a guest at Ravinia, Aspen, Bath, Marlboro, Mstislav Rostropovich's International Music Festival of Evian in France, the Casals Festival in Prades, Helsinki, Mostly Mozart, Santa Fe, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier and others. He is a frequent guest of string quartets including the Emerson, Tokyo, Borromeo, Brentano, and Ysaye Quartets. In addition, Mr. Hoffman is an Artist Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and appears each season with this esteemed ensemble.

Gary Hoffman was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1956. At 15 he made his London recital debut in Wigmore Hall; his New York recital debut occurred in 1979. At the age of 22 he became the youngest faculty appointee in the history of the Indiana University School of Music, where he remained for eight years. Mr. Hoffman, who is frequently invited to hold master classes, has coached cellists at numerous institutions and festivals, including Aspen, the Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar at the University of Southern California, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Casals' Festival in Prades, the Eastman School of Music, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, Ravinia and Salzburg.

Gary Hoffman has recorded for BMG (RCA), Sony, EMI and le Chant du Monde. He resides in Paris. He plays the 1662 Nicolo Amati cello formerly owned by Leonard Rose.