Philipp Schupelius (Cello)
biography, audio/video, discography, photos, Concerto repertoire, programs
www.www.philippschupelius.de

Biography

In March 2024, Classic FM named Philipp Schupelius one of the “30 Most Exciting Young Musicians in the World”. Born in Berlin in 2003, the multi-award-winning cellist has already captivated audiences as a soloist and chamber musician on numerous European stages. He is particularly passionate about distinctive concert formats, thematic programmes and bringing together different art forms in a single concert experience. In 2023, he completed his Bachelor of Music, followed by his Master of Music in 2024, at the Kronberg Academy in the class of Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Since 2024, he has continued his training there in the Professional Studies programme with Antje Weithaas. His studies are made possible through the Sodalitas Patronage.

In August 2023, Philipp Schupelius won First Prize at the German Music Competition (Deutscher Musikwettbewerb) in Bonn. The prize includes a CD recording with the Leipzig-based label GENUIN. In 2024, the label released the album “Driven”, recorded by Philipp Schupelius with the Metamorphosen Berlin Chamber Orchestra and pianist Yukino Kaihara. The recording was twice shortlisted for the OPUS KLASSIK. His debut album, “Pau! A Tribute to Casals”, had already been released in September 2023. Recorded at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the album explores the world of ideas of the legendary cellist and peace activist Pablo Casals, whose 50th anniversary of death was commemorated in 2023.

At the age of just 17, Philipp Schupelius received the Discovery Award at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA). In October 2022, he was awarded the Boris Pergamenschikow Grant and, in the same month, the Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis. He also received the First Great Award at the Manhattan Music Competition in late 2021 and won the Silver Medal at the Eurovision Young Musicians competition in 2022. He is a multiple first-prize winner at the German national Jugend musiziert competition. Since the 2024/25 season, Philipp Schupelius has been a Debut Artist at the Nikolaisaal Potsdam.

Philipp Schupelius has had the opportunity to learn from exceptional musicians. Since 2024, he has studied with Antje Weithaas as part of the Professional Studies programme. Before that, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt was a particularly formative influence: Schupelius studied with him for six years and completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under his guidance. He previously studied with Ulrich Voss in the Pre-College programme at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. He also received valuable advice from Justin Pearson, Daniel Hope and Anssi Karttunen. Another important experience was his participation in the Menuhin String Academy in Gstaad, where he studied with Ivan Monighetti in 2018. In masterclasses, he had the opportunity to work with the late distinguished cellists Lynn Harrell and Wolfgang Boettcher, as well as with Jens Peter Maintz, Daniel Geiss and Frans Helmerson.

In 2017, Philipp Schupelius made his solo debut performing Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations” with the Bergische Symphoniker; the concert was broadcast by WDR. Since then, he has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician on numerous stages throughout Europe. In autumn 2023, he performed the gala concert marking the 50th anniversary of Pablo Casals’ death at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. He has also performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival alongside violinist Daniel Hope and violist Philip Dukes. At the same festival in 2024, he and percussionist Leon Lorenz gave the world premiere of Fazıl Say’s “Middle Eastern Children”, a work composed especially for them.

The Hoelzer v. Borckesche Music Foundation has supported Philipp Schupelius since 2020. Since 2021, he has also been a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes). From 2017 to 2019, he was supported by the Jürgen Ponto Foundation. He was also a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and received a scholarship from the Kronberg Academy as early as 2018. Since October 2021, he has performed together with pianist Ron Huang for Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Berlin.

Audio/Video

Discography

YouTube: click

Spotify: click

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The Strad: click

Fotos

Concerto repertoire

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Cello Concerto in A major, Wq 172
Cello Concerto in a minor, Wq 170

Samuel Barber
Cello Concerto, Op. 22

Ernest Bloch
Schelomo – Hebrew Rhapsody for Violoncello and Orchestra

Luigi Boccherini
Cello Concerto in B flat major, G. 482

Benjamin Britten
Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68

Max Bruch
Kol Nidrei, Op. 47

Tan Dun
Intercourse of Fire and Water

Henri Dutilleux
Tout un monde lointain

Antonín Dvořák
Cello Concerto in b minor, Op. 104

Edward Elgar
Cello Concerto in e minor, Op. 85

Friedrich Gulda
Concerto for Violoncello and winds

Joseph Haydn
Cello Concerto no. 1 in C major, Hob.VIIb:1
Cello Concerto no. 2 in D-major, Hob.VIIb:2

Victor Herbert
Cello Concerto no. 2 in e minor, Op. 30

Gustav Holst
Invocation for Cello and Orchestra

Witold Lutosławski
Cello Concerto

Sergej Prokofiev
Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 125

Camille Saint-Saëns
Cello Concerto no.1 in a minor, Op.33

Alfred Schnittke
Cello Concerto no. 1

Dmitri Shostakovich
Cello Concerto no.1, Op. 107
Cello Concerto no.2, Op. 126

Arnold Schönberg
Cello Concerto in D major

Robert Schumann
Cello Concerto in a mínor Op. 129

Richard Strauss
“Don Quixote”, Op. 35

Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky
Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33

Double Concerto in g minor, RV 531

Programs for recitals/chamber music

cello/piano

Program 1: Vivaldi and Rachmaninov

Sergej Rachmaninov
Oriental Dance in a minor, Op. 2 no.2

Antonio Vivaldi
Cello Sonata in a minor, RV 44

Sergej Rachmaninov
Elegy Op. 3, no.1

Antonio Vivaldi
Sonata in e minor RV 40

Sergej Rachmaninov
Sonata in  g minor, Op. 19

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Programm 2: An Italian Suite

Stravinsky, Vivaldi and Gabrielli
Italian Suite
(Compilation from Suite Italienne und several Sonatas)

Sergej Prokofiev
Cello Sonata, Op. 119

Sergej Rachmaninov
Sonata in g minor, Op. 19

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Program 3: Benjamin Britten

Edward Elgar
Romance, Op.1
2 pieces, Op. 13
La capricieuse, Op. 1

Dimitri Shostakovich
Cello Sonata in d minor, Op. 40

With readings from the poems by W.H. Auden

Benjamin Britten
Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 65

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Program 4: The mirror

Arvo Pärt
Mirrors in the mirror

“Arpeggione”-sonata in a minor, D 821

Sonata for violoncello

Arvo Pärt
Fratres

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Program 5

Two sides

Schubert und Schumann
Lieder

Robert Schumann
Fünf Stücke im Volkston

Franz Schubert
„Arpeggione“-Sonate a-Moll, D 821

Gershwin und Debussy
– Preludes und Lieder –

Claude Debussy
Sonate für Violoncello

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For Cello/Percussion

Astor Piazzolla
Histoire du Tango

Johann Sebastian Bach
Cello Suite no.5 in c minor, BWV 1011

Fazil Say
Middle Eastern Children

Antonio Vivaldi
Cello Sonata in a minor, RV 44

Georg Gershwin
Three Preludes

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Programs for Cello Solo

Programm 1: Scordatura

Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite for Cello Solo, no.5 in c minor BWV 1011

Henri Dutilleux
Trois Strophe sur le nom de Sacher

Zoltán Kodály
Solo Sonata for Cello in b minor, Op. 8

 

Program 2: Sketchbook 

Lamentatio

Suite für Cello Solo, Nr. 1 G-Dur BWV 1007

Sketchbook
Mit Werken von Cassado, Piazzolla u.a.

Lamentatio

Suite für Cello Solo, Nr. 2 d-Moll BWV 1008
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