Desmond Hoebig, ‘cello, Anta Pontremoli, piano
May 17, 2011 at 8:00 pm at Fairmount Temple
Debussy - Sonata for Cello and Piano
Shostakovich - Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40
Brahms - Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Major, Op. 99
Desmond Hoebig
“Hoebig was a paragon of interpretive sensitivity, projecting vibrant sound into the hall even as he lavished the impassioned messages with ardent and poetic shading. The piece’s taxing demands rarely come across with such clarity or purpose.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
review of the Dvorak concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra
May 2008
One of North America’s finest instrumentalists, cellist Desmond Hoebig was appointed principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra in 2003, with whom he frequently appeared as soloist. He left Cleveland “after six wonderful seasons” in the Fall of 2009 to teach at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston and to pursue solo opportunities.
First-prize winner at the Munich International Competition, the CBC Talent Competition and the Canadian Music Competition, he was also an award-winner at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Hoebig studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with David Soyer and at The Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins. He has also participated in masterclasses with Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at The Banff Centre for the Arts.
As guest soloist, Mr. Hoebig has performed with all the major orchestras in Canada as well as the Houston, Cincinnati, San Diego Madison, Canton and Fresno Symphonies in the United States and orchestras in Mexico. His performances abroad have included appearances with orchestras in Germany, Spain, Portugal and Japan.
As a chamber musician he was cellist with the Orford String Quartet, which performed extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The quartet won a Juno award for best classical album in 1990. Since 1980 he has performed regularly in a duo with pianist Andrew Tunis, with whom he has made three recordings, one of which was nominated for a Juno award, and has given recital tours in North America and Europe.
Mr. Hoebig gave the Canadian premiere of the Dutilleux concerto, Tout un Monde Lontain, in 1993 and played it again on short notice with David Robertson and the Cleveland Orchestra in 2005.
Mr. Hoebig has performed and taught at festivals throughout North America, including those in Marlboro, Banff, Domaine Forget, Calgary, Orford, Parry Sound, Vancouver, Victoria, Sarasota and Ottawa.
Mr. Hoebig served as associate principal of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra and principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony before joining the Orford Quartet. Before coming to Cleveland, we was principal cellist of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Associate Professor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
Desmond Hoebig plays a varied repertory of concertos including Dvorak, Elgar, Haydn (in D), Shostakovich (#1), Tchaikovsky’s Rococco Variations and Bloch’s Schelomo. He is also eager to collaborate with other musicians in such works as the Beethoven Triple and Brahms Double Concertos.
Anita Pontremoli
Head, Collaborative Piano Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano from CIM, then she completed special studies in piano literature and chamber music at Yale University College of Music and the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milano, Italy. She has performed with internationally renowned artists including Lynn Harrell, Arnold Steinhardt, Aaron Rosand and Dale Clevenger, as well as Cleveland Orchestra artists and gifted younger musicians entering outstanding careers. She is also the head of collaborative piano for the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, Canada and held the same position at the ENCORE School for Strings. She employs results-oriented teaching methods, including collaborative and solo piano, as well as intensive coaching in chamber music and special studies in contemporary music and the works of women composers. She has had many successful students who have gone on to active careers in the U.S. and abroad. Her recordings include Impresiones Intimas, the first of a projected five CDs of the complete piano music of Federico Mompou (Centaur Records) and the Duo Pontremoli Sonatas by Amy Beach and Grazyna Bacewicz. She was appointed to the CIM faculty in 1977.