David Cohen, cello and Alberto Mesirca guitar. A Human Voice – Song and Cello
Thursday 10th December 2026, 7.30pm
£25 (£10 students and under 25s)
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PROGRAMME
Gaspar Cassado Requiebros
Sergei Rachmaninov Vocalise
Paganini Cantabile
Maurice Ravel Habanera
Arvo Pärt Spiegel Im spiegel
Steve Goss Autumn Song
De Falla Canciones
DAVID COHEN – CELLO
The world-renowned cellist and conductor David Cohen embodies a unique combination of qualities making him one of the most versatile and exciting musicians of this day. He has been internationally acclaimed for his remarkable instrumental mastery, generous musicianship, vast experience in varied repertoires combined with a flamboyant charisma. Highlights of the 2024-2025 season included Davids’ appearance as a conductor with the PHION Orchestra in The Netherlands and his performance as a cellist of the Edward Elgar Cello Concerto at the Barbican Centre together with the London Symphony Orchestra and Antonio Pappano.
Born in the town of Tournai in Belgium, David made his solo debut with the Belgium National Orchestra at the age of nine. His international career as a soloist soon flourished leading him to perform with top-class orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Soloist Chamber Orchestra, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege, l’Orchestre Symphonique de la VRT, l’Orchestre de la Beethoven Akademie, l’Orchestre National de Lille, the Zurich chamber orchestra, L’Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, l’Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Grenoble, the Polish Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphonia of Warsaw, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, NHK, BBC Concert Orchestra. Furthermore, David has worked as a soloist with some of the most distinguished conductors in the industry such as Lord Menuhin, M. Rostropovitch, Walter Weller, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Ashkenazy, C.V. Dohnanyi, Pedro Hallfter, Martin Brabbins.
His solo debut in Japan with The N.H.K and Maestro V. Ashkenazy performing Tchaikowsky ‘Rococo Variations’ in June 2007 has made a great impression, leading to recurring collaborations in the years to follow. As a graduate of the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, with the support of a grant from the Menuhin Foundation, David won more than 25 prizes in International Cello Competitions. Amongst his prizes and awards are the Gold Medal of the GSMD in London, (like Jaqueline Dupre), The Geneva International Cello Competition, the Audi International Competition, International Cello Competition in Douai, ’Tenuto’international Competition”, The Guilherminia Suggia Gift, The Ian Flaming Trust, SPES, KPMG Martin Scholarship, Hattory Foundation, Berllotti-Buitonie Fellowship award, Fondation SUISA, J.S.Bach International Competition. Furthermore, David was Nominated ECHO “Rising Star” for the season 2002-2003 by the “Royal Philharmonic Society of Belgium” and the “Concertgebouw”.
Davids’ passion for chamber music has led him to regularly enjoy collaborating with fine musicians in major International cello- and chamber music festivals such as Kronberg (Germany), Manchester ( U.K), Cambridge (U.K.), Beauvais (France), Orpheus Baccheus in Bordeaux ( France), the Gstaad Festival (Suisse), West Cork (Ireland) Kuhmo (Finland) Elverum (Norway) Oxford (u.k), Sonoro (Bucharest). David is the Artistic Director of the Melchior Ensemble, which brings together the finest musicians from Europe such as a.o. Sasha Sitkovetsky, Priya Mitchel, Corine Chapelle, Silver Ainomae, Razvan Popovici and is the ensemble in Residence in Peter House Cambridge. David was appointed Principal Cello of the Philharmonia Orchestra in March 2001 (making him the youngest principal cellist in the history.).
He has be appointed Principal cello of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2022. Internationally award winning discography by David is to be found with Forlane, Classic FM, Cypres-Records and the LPO Label. It includes recordings of the Lutoslawski cello concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Gubaidulina cello concerto with the BBC Symphony. David plays on a magnificient Dominicus Montagnana cello circa 1735 thanks to the late Patricia Morton and the Razumovsky Trust. David is the creator and artistic director of « Les Sons Intensifs » , a vibrant chamber music festival in the home town of the famous artist Renee Magritte (Lessines, Belgium ).
A conductor of fine reputation, David has performed in several international festivals such as Kuhmo Festival, Stift Festival, Osnabruck “Con brio Festival”, Les Sons Intensifs, Belgrade Ensemble, Phion Orchestra in Netherlands. His repertoire includes composers such as P.M.Davis, P.Glass, Debussy, Gubbaidulina, Mahler, Stravinsky, Sibelius, including premiere performances and recordings of pieces by Osvaldo Golijov and Isidora Zebeljan. “…David Cohen, one of the most talented young cellists I know. He was a student at my School for some years, and is altogether a remarkable young man, a remarkable performer and already an outstanding cellist.” Lord Menuhin (dec. 98)
ALBERTO MESIRCA – Classical Guitar
“This is the best Scarlatti I’ve heard on solo guitar”, K. Keaton, American Record Guide.
“Superb recording from the prodigiously talented Mesirca”, P. Fowles, Classical Guitar Magazine.
“Superb performance of Alberto Mesirca, an exceptional young guitarist come in visit from Italy”, Robert Fripp, dmglive diaries.
“In Alberto Mesirca, the work has found the most skilled, dedicated, and sensitive interpreter imaginable; and through the work, the listener can hear a formidable classical guitarist perform”. Marc Ribot.
Alberto is winner of the 2020 GRAMOPHONE Prize for “Best concept Album of the Year”, and 2023 Artist in residence at The Stone, The New School, NY (art. Dir. John Zorn).
The Italian guitarist Alberto Mesirca was born in 1984. He completed his Bachelor and Master of Arts at the Conservatory of Castelfranco Veneto, before going on to study with Wolfgang Lendle at the Music Academy of Kassel in Germany.
In 2007 he won the International Guitar Convention in Alessandria’s ‘Golden Guitar’ for ‘Best Recording’ for his disc Ikonostas, winning the same award again in 2013 for his ‘British Guitar Music’ recording with cellist Martin Rummel. The prestigious organisation also judged Mesirca to be ‘Best Upcoming Artist’ in 2009.
As a chamber musician, Alberto worked with many illustrous musicians such as Dimitri Ashkenazy, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Daniel Rowland, David Cohen, Nicholas Daniel, Priya Mitchell, Marcelo Nisinman, Chen Halevi, among others. He has also collaborated with the Enesco, Ardeo and Acies string quartets, Quartetto d’Archi di Venezia, and Ex Novo Ensemble.
Recent seasons have been characterized by intensive periods of concerts performances, lectures and masterclasses around the world. These have taken him to the Guitar Foundation of America Convention, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (where he performed the national premiere of a composition of György Kurtàg, working closely with the composer), Stradivari Foundation, Oxford Chamber Music Festival, Silesian Guitar Autumn in Poland, Festival Classique in The Hague, Lessines ‘Sons intensifs’ Festival, ‘Semana Tarrega’ in Valencia, and Beethoven Festival in Melbourne. Other highlights include the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Regio in Parma, Auditori Nacional in Valencia, Kunsthalle Wien and the Italian Institutes of Culture in Paris, Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm, Barcelona and San Francisco.
Working with Marc Ribot, Alberto recorded the complete guitar works of the Haitian composer Frantz Casséus. Alberto was also responsible for the digitalization and creation of the Musical Archive of the Beyazit Library in Istanbul, Turkey in 2011. In collaboration with Hopkinson, Alberto published the previously unknown compositions by Francesco Da Milano which appeared in the Castelfranco Veneto 1565 Lute Manuscript, which are now distributed by Orphee Editions. This re-discovery led Dusan Bogdanovic to write a composition for Alberto on a theme of Da Milano called “Tre Ricercari sulla Compagna”. In 2013 Mesirca gave the world première of a composition written for him by the Cuban composer, guitarist and music director, Leo Brouwer.