Cellist Laura van der Heijden Signs Exclusive Recording Contract with Chandos Records

The former BBC Young Musician of the Year will release her first album for the label in February 2022

24-year-old British cellist Laura van der Heijden recently signed an exclusive recording deal with UK label Chandos Records.

Her first album with Chandos will be recorded in collaboration with pianist Jâms Coleman and will feature music by Kodály, Dvořák, and Janáček.

This album is not quite her Chandos debut, however; van der Heijden recorded once for the label already, as a member of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. The group released their debut album, "American Quintets," earlier this year.

Van der Heijden's debut album, "1948," was released by Champs Hill Records, an independent label based in West Sussex. Recorded with pianist Pitr Limonov, the disc covered Soviet-era works by Prokofiev, Myaskovsky, and Shaporin. The album traversed composers' responses to a decree issued by the Communist Party in October 1948 that severely limited their freedoms. The disc was critically acclaimed, winning both the 2018 Edison Klassiek Award and the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award.

"I first became aware of Laura when she won the BBC Young Musician competition in 2012, and have closely followed her career ever since, as she has developed into a world-class musician," said the label's Managing Director, Ralph Couzens. "I’m delighted to welcome her to Chandos, and excited about the great projects we have planned for the future."

"It is an honor to be associated with a recording label with such integrity, and that puts music above everything else," van der Heijden said. "Having their support and trust is incredibly inspiring, and gives me confidence in a future filled with interesting, creative, and heartfelt recording projects."