bio
Laura
van der Heijden
«Van der Heijden does it all - from fragility to power, introversion to extroversion. Her playing … is deeply thoughtful, personal and sincere.» - BBC Music Magazine, July 2024
Laura van der Heijden has emerged as one of the leading cellists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike with her deeply perceptive interpretations and engaging, creative programming.
Forthcoming concerto appearances include with the Brno Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Other highlights of Laura’s 2024/25 season include recitals at the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall with long standing pianist Jâms Coleman, collaborative projects at the Serios Fesitval in Helsinki and with Her Ensemble at London’s Milton Court, and a chamber project with Ben Goldscheider at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin.
Having given the World Premiere of Frances-Hoad’s «Earth, Sea, Air» in 2023 with BBC Scottish Symphony, Laura is taking to the stage of the Royal Albert Hall with the orchestra and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth to perform the work at the 2024 BBC Proms. A Chandos artist, Laura’s latest release on the label in 2024 includes the premiere recording of Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s new work alongside Bridge Oration and Walton’s Cello Concerto. An increasingly prominent voice on the classical music scene, Laura recently appeared on Jess Gillam’s podcast «This Classical Life» and Tom Service’s «Saturday Morning» show on BBC Radio 3, and was featured as a cover article for The Strad publication.
Highlights of recent seasons include as «Artist in Focus» at King’s Place, and concerto appearances with the London Philharmonic, Aurora and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, CBSO, and play/direct with the Britten Sinfonia. She also appeared at the Barbican with the BBC Symphony Orchestra as part of their George Walker «Total Immersion» project. Laura’s 2023/24 season included solo and chamber recitals at the BBC Proms, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham Music Festival, St George’s Bristol and Lammermuir and Bad Kissingen Summer Festivals. Laura has worked with distinguished conductors the late Sir Andrew Davis, Alpesh Chauhan, Nick Collon, Richard Egarr, Gemma New, and Karl-Heinz Steffens amongst them.
Now with a growing discography, Laura’s first album on Chandos Records, , features works by Janáček and Dvořák and was released to critical acclaim in 2022, followed in 2023 by with chamber partners Francesca Dego, Timothy Ridout, and Federico Colli, and with Kaleidoscope. In 2024 Chandos released Laura’s album with pianist Jâms Coleman featuring works inspired by William T. Horton’s captivating image and Kaleidoscope’s first volume of , featuring piano quartets of Brahms and Le Beau. Having won the BBC Young Musician competition in 2012 aged 15, Laura’s 2018 debut album won the 2018 Edison Klassiek Award and the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Newcomer of the Year Award. The disc, featuring Russian music for cello and piano with pianist Petr Limonov, has been hailed as a «a thought-provoking debut disc from an impressive and intelligent young cellist.» (Gramophone)
A passionate chamber musician and collaborative artist, Laura plays with the critically-acclaimed Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, who perform a wide variety of captivating repertoire across the UK and beyond. She has performed chamber recitals together with Timothy Ridout, Katya Apekisheva, Max Baillie, the Redon Quartet, and the Brodsky Quartet amongst others.
Laura is a graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge and currently studies with Antje Weithaas at the Hanns Eisler in Berlin. She plays a late 17th-century cello by Francesco Ruggieri of Cremona, on generous loan from a private collection.