We are delighted to welcome back star young soloist Maxim Calver to play Elgar’s much loved Cello Concerto. Elgar’s concert overture In the South (Alassio) was inspired by a family holiday on the Italian Riviera and conjures up everything from ‘Joy of Life (wine and macaroni),’ through Mediterranean storms and romantic ruins with shepherds, to Roman armies on the march. Our programme ends with Hindemith’s most popular work, the Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber – a colourful and exuberant orchestral tour de force featuring marches, fugues and variations on a Chinese folk song.
Praised for the “elegance of his technique, overall sound and natural poeticism” (Charlotte Gardner, Strad Magazine), Maxim Calver first gained public recognition as a Grand Finalist and Strings Category winner of BBC Young Musician 2018, where he made his concerto debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Since then he has been in high demand across the UK and Europe and in October 2021, he made his European Concerto debut at the Grosse Saal of the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. Maxim plays an Alberto Aloyisius Blanchi cello, dated 1906.
Establishing himself as a young artist known for his passion for performance, Maxim has appeared in many of Europe’s other leading venues including the Wigmore Hall, Tonhalle Zurich and Cadogan Hall amongst others. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with various orchestras including the Bath, Stockport, Ipswich, Maidstone and Young Musician Symphony Orchestras, the Orpheus Sinfonia and the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra. He also made debut recital appearances at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Cambridge Summer Music Festival and at the Oranjewoud Festival in the Netherlands as the winner of the ‘Oranjewoud Award’ at the 2024 Schiermonnikoog Festival.
In the 24/25 season, Maxim’s highlights include performances of Elgar, Shostakovich and Dvorak’s cello concertos, recitals alongside pianist Kumi Matsuo and a variety of exciting chamber music collaborations. Furthermore, from the start of the 24/25 season Maxim has been invited to be an ‘Associated Artist’ on the UK Artists Directory after his successful tenure on the Countess of Munster Trust’s Recital Scheme. A passionate chamber musician, Maxim has appeared at the Gstaad-Menuhin, Lewes, Stamford and International Pau Casals Chamber Music Festivals and performed live radio broadcasts from the Konzerthaus Berlin and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In May 2024, he was invited to the Kronberg Academy’s ‘Chamber Music Connects the World’ Festival where he worked and performed alongside Gidon Kremer, Antje Weithaas and Lawrence Power. Maxim has also appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival for the past two years as a part of their ‘rising stars’ series at the invitation of current artistic director Nicola Benedetti.
In 2023, Maxim was invited by composer Matthew Coleridge to appear on his new album ‘Requiem’ alongside the Southern Sinfonia and Choir of Royal Holloway directed by Rupert Gough. The album was recently released on Convivium Records to widespread critical acclaim.
Originally from Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk, Maxim started the cello at the age of 4 with Maja Passchier before moving to the Yehudi Menuhin School to study with Thomas Carroll aged just 8 years old. He currently studies at the Royal College of Music with Professor Melissa Phelps, where he is proud to be an ABRSM Scholar for his postgraduate studies. He has received guidance and inspiration from many leading cellists including Gary Hoffman, Frans Helmerson, Steven Doane, Colin Carr and the late Heinrich Schiff. Maxim has also partaken in master-classes at the Kronberg Academy, Tibor Varga Academy and IMS Prussia Cove amongst others.
Maxim is very grateful to have received support from the Amaryllis Fleming Foundation, Geoff and Val Richards, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Drake Calleja Trust and the Hattori Foundation. He is also very grateful to the Young Classical Artists Trust and the Countess of Munster Trust for their invitation to join the UK Artists Directory as an Associate Artist from 2024.
We are also delighted to welcome Daniel Hogan as our Guest Conductor for this concert. Described as ‘a musician of sincerity, integrity and a maturity well beyond his years’, Daniel Hogan is a young British talent beginning to establish himself on the international scene. In concert, he has conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic and Baltic Sea Philharmonic, and has been Assistant Conductor for many of the UK’s most esteemed institutions, including Opera North, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Philharmonia. He has a busy schedule working with non-professional groups, including being Music Director for the Winchester Symphony Orchestra, Kew Sinfonia and Chorleywood Orchestra. He recently graduated from the Royal College of Music with Distinction for his Masters in Conducting, and is currently concluding his Advanced Diploma with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music.
For further information, please visit www.danielhoganconductor.com