Steven Isserlis

About Steven Isserlis

Prominent cellist Steven Isserlis has a distinctive sound, created partly by the use of gut strings, and often performs Baroque and Classical-period music. He has written several books about classical music for children. His two sisters are both musicians, and family music-making was an important part of home life. Isserlis made his London debut in 1977. His recording debut came in 1985 with an album of the Brahms cello sonatas. Isserlis has performed with many of the world's major orchestras and is an enthusiastic chamber music player. In 2017, his recording of the Haydn cello concertos was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2021, Isserlis published a book for adults, The Bach Cello Suites: A Companion; his recording of those suites won the Gramophone Award for Best Instrumental Recording in 2007. Isserlis' programming concepts are varied and original, including his 2022 recording A Golden Cello Decade, 1878-1888.