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The Spanish cellist, Asier Polo, studied at the Conservatory of Music of Bilbao with Professor Elisa Pascu. In 1987-1989, he won first prizes in cello and chamber music at the National Young Musicians Competition. Later, he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid (Class of 1994), with Maria Kliegel at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (1990-1993), and with Ivan Monighetti at the Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel (Class of 1996). He also received guidance from János Starker, Natalia Gutman and Mstislav Rostropovich in various master-classes. During his studies in Cologne and Madrid, he also studied chamber music with the Amadeus Quartet and members of Quartetto Italiano. He soon stood out as a promising young musician, winning the first prizes in Cello and Chamber Music at the National Young Musicians Competition in Spain. He has been awarded numerous prizes, and amongst others, the Ojo Crítico by Radio Nacional de España (2002), the Fundación CEOE Prize for Musical Interpretation (2004) and the National Music Award by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Spain (2019). In 2009 he was appointed "Ilustre de Bilbao".
Asier Polo has appeared as soloist and in recitals in Europe, Asia and America. Considered by the specialist music press as one of the most important cellists of his generation, he has worked with many of the major international orchestras, such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Dresdner Philharmonie, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Philharmonic, Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Symphoniker, Orquesta Nacional de México, Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo, Louisiana Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra and Sinfonieorchester Basel, under the baton of distinguished conductors such as John Axelrod, Pinchas Steinberg, Christian Badea, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Claus Peter Flor, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Günther Herbig, Juanjo Mena, Antoni Wit and Anne Manson.
Asier Polo is a regular guest at prestigious festivals, such as those held in Schleswig-Holstein, Nantes, Ohrid, Biennale di Venezia, Rome, Lisbon, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Morelia, Granada and the Quincena Musical in San Sebastián. He has appeared with great artists such as Silvia Marcovici, Nicolás Chumachenco, Sol Gabetta, Maxim Rysanov, Isabelle van Keulen, Josep Colom, Eldar Nebolsin, Gerard Caussé, Cuarteto Janácek, Cuarteto Casals and Alfredo Kraus, who in the last years of his career invited him to perform as soloist at his concerts, with engagements at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, Tonhalle in Zürich and the prestigious Musikverein in Vienna, as well as a successful tour in the major concerts halls in Japan.
Asier Polo is devoted to contemporary music, especially from his native country. Composers such as Gabriel Erkoreka, Jesús Torres, Luis de Pablo, Jesús Villa-Rojo, Fernando Velázquez and Antón García Abril have all dedicated their cello concertos to Asier Polo. He enjoys combining modern music with the great classical repertoire, covering everything from J.S. Bach’s Suites, classical and romantic concertos, to contemporary music such as Henri Dutilleux, Cristobal Halffter and Sofia Gubaidulina.
Asier Polo has recorded 19 albums for major record labels such as Naxos, Claves, RTVE, IBS Classical and Marco Polo, playing some of the major Spanish repertoire for cello, such as the concertos by José María Usandizaga, Joaquín Rodrigo, Francisco Escudero, Tomás Marco, Carmelo Bernaola and Jesús Rueda. Highlights include the nominated for the Gramophon Editor’s Choice Award CD dedicated to the work of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina (Et’cetera Records) and the recording of the Ecos y Sombras [Echoes and Shades] DVD dedicated to Cristóbal Halffter, performing his Cello Concerto no.2 with the Spanish National Orchestra (KP Music). His latest CD releases -all them for IBS Classical- include Sergei Rachmaninov and César Franck's sonatas for cello and piano with Marta Zabaleta and Johannes Brahms’ cello sonatas with the pianist Eldar Nebolsin, as well as Antonio Vivaldi, Boccherini and Haydn’s cello concertos together with the Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla and Andrés Gabetta, and the whole set of Cello Suites (BWV 1007-1012) by J.S. Bach, his latest album. Two new albums will soon be released with the Spanish National Orchestra, conducted by Juanjo Mena: Joaquín Rodrigo’s two cello concertos - Concierto como un Divertimento and Concierto in modo Galante, as well as Alberto Ginastera’s Cello Concerto No. 2, Op.50 (1980).
Asier Polo served as Cello Professor at Musikene - Centro superior de Música del País Vasco; since September 2019, he teaches at Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. He is regularly invited to be on the judging panel of international cello competitions, such as the Dotzauer Wettbewerb (Germany), Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition (Mexico), Benedetto Mazzacurati Competition (Italy) and the Manhattan International Music Competition (New York). He also gives master-classes in many countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil.
Asier Polo plays a Francesco Ruggeri cello (Cremona, 1689) purchased in collaboration with the Fundación Banco Santander. |
