Cellist Amit Peled arrives Sunday in Fairfax on a circuitous route that began in Herford, Germany, two weeks ago. A faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, he likes to limit his travels to short distances from home, but when his agent contacted him last year about the 19-concert tour with the Nordwest Deutsche Philharmonic led by American Eugene Tzigane, the orchestra’s principal conductor, he was immediately interested.
“Tzigane and I have never crossed paths, but my wife’s family lives in that part of Germany and have often told me that orchestra is the very best in that area,” Peled said. “They hear the subscription concerts and tune in on the radio to hear the young, exciting conductor. I would rather not leave my wife and three children in Baltimore for five weeks, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to work with these fine musicians.
“This is an old style tour with no time to practice, We’ll plays six concerts in Europe followed by 13 in the U.S. from Boston to Sarasota, [Fla.]. We travel by bus, which will be an interesting adventure. As soon as each concert ends, we’ll climb onto the bus and travel by night. The next morning, we’ll try the hall and get ready for the evening concert. After the Fairfax concert, my family will have only 15 minutes to be with me before we set out for the next city.”
| Onstage |
| Amit Peled |
| Where: George Mason University Center for the Arts |
| When: 4 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $25 to $50; 888-945-2468; cfa.gmu.edu |
The program features Grieg’s “Peer Gynt” Suite and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor. Peled is performing Victor Herbert’s Concerto for cello and orchestra, a work that was not in his repertoire previously. Of the 19 venues given the option of concertos by Herbert and Shostakovich, all but six chose the Herbert.
“I didn’t know a note of it, but I love it,” Peled said. “It’s gorgeous and very refreshing. During the ’60s and ’70s, it was played often, but for some reason disappeared. Herbert began as a cellist and also loved writing operettas. Because he often wrote for his wife, a singer, this work is very lyrical.”
Peled anticipates a busy spring and summer with a performance of the Elgar concerto in April conducted by Michael Stern, the son of Isaac, and a continuation of his recording series the Jewish Soul and Cellobration. One of the planned works is Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo” a Hebraic rhapsody of 45 minutes for cello and orchestra. Best of all, he relishes his position on the Peabody faculty, another opportunity that came unexpectedly.
“I love teaching because I can really see how a human being can be changed into an excellent cellist,” he said. “I keep in touch with my students to learn how those four years have affected them. They take me with them on a journey and every year I teach differently from different angles. Along the way, I grow up, but my students stay the same.”
