Inbal Segev Premieres Timo Andres' New Cello Concerto with Metropolis Ensemble at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

On Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 7pm cellist Inbal Segev, known for her "glowing, burnished tone," (The Washington Post) will give the world premiere of Timo Andres' new cello concerto, Upstate Obscura, with the Metropolis Ensemble led by Andrew Cyr. This performance entitled, Time Travelers to Versailles, is presented by MetLiveArts in Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 5th Avenue) inspired by the exhibition Visitors to Versailles (1682-1789) on view at The Met Fifth Avenue April 16-July 29, 2018.

Written for Segev and the Metropolis Ensemble, Upstate Obscura is inspired by two paintings in the Visitors to Versailles exhibition - Hudson Valley neoclassicist painter John Vanderlyn's Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles.

Timo Andres says of the work, "Any recollection of Versailles is bound to evoke the music of Couperin, Lully, and the sounds of the high French Baroque. I found myself imagining the gestures and harmonies of this style repurposed as musical 'souvenirs' in the severe style of New York's Hudson Valley circa 1818. I often work this way, deriving material from little cells of music stolen and re-contextualized from other music. The cello will play the part of the protagonist, anchoring the shifting perspectives and emotions of an orchestral panorama."

Of his composition style, The New Yorker raves, "Like John Adams and the late Steven Stucky, Andres has succeeded in carrying forward the mainstream tradition of orchestral modernism (which includes Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Ives, and, now, Adams himself) in a way that is no less distinctive for seeming so ironic and abashed..."

Early-music vocal group TENET joins Metropolis Ensemble for two additional works on this concert: Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Les Plaisirs de Versailles, divertissement composed for courtly entertainment for King Louis XIV and held in his private apartments at the palace of Versailles in 1682; and the world premiere of a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw (commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble) for period and modern instruments inspired by the exhibition.

Inbal Segev's playing has been described as "characterized by a strong and warm tone . . . delivered with impressive fluency and style," by The Strad, with"rich tone and supple technique" by The Baltimore Sun, and "first class," "richly inspired," and "very moving indeed," by Gramophone. Equally committed to new repertoire and masterworks, Segev brings interpretations that are both unreservedly natural and insightful to the vast range of music she performs.

Inbal Segev has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Castleton Festival Orchestra with Lorin Maazel, Bogotá Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Dortmund Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Polish National Radio Symphony, and the Bangkok Symphony. She made debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, at age 17.

Segev's repertoire includes all of the standard concerti and solo works for cello, as well as new pieces and rarely performed gems. In February 2018 with the Albany Symphony, Segev was the first cellist to perform Christopher Rouse's Violoncello Concerto since Yo-Yo Ma premiered it in the 1990s. In April 2018, Segev will give the premiere of a new piece by Timo Andres at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2017, Segev gave the world premiere of Dan Visconti's cello concerto, Tangle Eye, with the California Symphony led by Donato Cabrera. Other notable commissions and premieres include Gity Razaz's Legend of Sigh for cello and electronics and cello concertos by Avner Dorman and Lucas Richman.

Inbal Segev is a founding member of the Amerigo Trio with former New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow and violist Karen Dreyfus. She has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has collaborated with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Jeremy Denk, Anthony McGill, Jason Vieaux, Gilbert Kalish, Michael Tree, Anne Akiko Meyers, the American Chamber Players, and the Vogler Quartet. Festival appearances include the Banff, Ravinia, Bowdoin, Olympic, Cape & Islands, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra New Music festivals in North America; the Siena, Rolandseck, and Montpellier festivals in Europe; and the Jerusalem Music Center and Upper Galilee festivals in Israel

Segev's recording of the complete Cello Suites of J.S. Bach rose to critical acclaim and a spot on The New York Times Classical Playlist in 2015. Her discography also includes Lucas Richman's Three Pieces for Cello and Orchestra with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Albany), Sonatas by Beethoven and Boccherini (Opus One), Nigun (Vox), and Max Schubel's Concerto for Cello and Horn (Opus One). With the Amerigo Trio she has recorded serenades by Dohnányi (Navona). Her recording with pianist Juho Pohjonen of the music of Chopin, Schumann, and Grieg will be released in 2018.

Inbal Segev's many honors include the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and top prizes at the Pablo Casals, Paulo, and Washington International Competitions. She began playing the cello in Israel at age five and at 16 was invited by Isaac Stern to come to the U.S. to continue her studies. She earned degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale University. Inbal Segev lives in New York City with her husband and three children. Her cello was made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1673.

Inbal Segev's YouTube channel, featuring music videos and her popular masterclass series, Musings with Inbal Segev, has thousands of subscribers and over a half million views.

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