Cremona Musica Awards Honor Cellist Steven Isserlis

The British cellist has won the prestigious prize in the performance category

Established in 2014, the Cremona Musica Awards have been previously given to the likes of Alfred Brendel, Ivry Gitlis, Shlomo Mintz, and Maxim Vengerov.

The cultural committee of Cremona Musica International Exhibitions will award this year's recipient, cellist Steven Isserlis, at Cremona Musica on September 24 in the Sala Guarneri.

"The Cremona Musica Award has been conferred on Steven Isserlis for his sensitive and passionate interpretations, and for his unceasing dedication to the art of music," reads the release. "His discography is an example and a model for many young musicians who are inspired and enlightened by him."

As a soloist, chamber musician, author, educator, and broadcaster, Steven Isserlis CBE is equally at home in the baroque to contemporary repertoire. He performs with the world’s greatest orchestras and has given many world premieres — including works by Sir John Tavener, Thomas Adès, and György Kurtág.

His vast award-winning discography includes most of the cello repertoire, including the JS Bach suites which won Gramophone's Instrumental Album of the Year.

An author of two children's books, his latest book is a critically-acclaimed companion to the Bach cello suites, which is published in Italian by Edizioni Curci in September 2023.

Since 1997, he has been Artistic Director of the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, Cornwall. He plays the 1726 ‘Marquis de Corberon’ Stradivarius, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.