May saw Alban Gerhardt traveling across Europe at a rather frantic tempo: three concerts in Milano, three in Vienna, one in Prague, one in London (his long-awaited debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra!) and two in Zürich… His performances of Dvořák’s cello concerto, Shostakovich’s cello concerto and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante enthused public and critics alike. In the Wiener Zeitung, Gerhard Kramer notes Alban’s “noble, slender but sustainable tone, brilliant technique and secure intonation” whilst Werner Pfister from the Zürich-See Zeitung found Alban’s playing “tremendously intensive” and called him a “singer on four strings”. Guy Dammann from the Guardian awarded the Philharmonia and Alban a stunning 5-star review, not only mentioning Alban’s “ravishing performance”, but also the artist’s unpretentious way of joining the orchestra’s cello section for the works which did not contain a cello solo…something Alban also did in Vienna. On his blog, Alban wrote down his impressions of his European tour. Next on Alban’s busy schedule are Mexico City, Leverkusen, Berlin, Munich, Chicago and the Stresa Festival. We will keep you posted! 🙂