2008 Naumburg Cello Award Winner

Snatching up awards from international cello competitions left and right, cellist David Requiro is quickly showing himself to be a rapidly rising star and artist worth watching. At the age of 24, he was declared the winner of the 2008 Naumburg Cello Competition. This, his debut album, followed the next year. For his varied program, Requiro has chosen two warhorses of the repertoire: the colorfully evocative Debussy sonata and the ebullient, optimistic Brahms F major Sonata. To contrast with these much loved sonatas, Requiro includes the diverse Capriccio of William Bolcom and three shorter works of Gaspar Cassadó. This delightful program succeeds in its aim of demonstrating the diverse range of techniques and characters that Requiro has mastered at such an early age. Each of his performances incorporates a strong technical showing, sensitive left hand, muscular left arm, and a deep musical understanding of the scores that connects the three. His sound, though not exceptionally deep or robust even in the cello's lower register, is nonetheless powerful and penetrating, easily rising above the piano in even the densest moments of the Brahms. What is perhaps most impressive on this disc is the immediate connection Requiro makes between listeners and Bolcom's lesser known work, instantly convincing his audience that it has heard it many times before. With skills as varied and refined as his, Requiro's career is certainly one to be watched with much interest.