The Gold Medal-winner at the 2015 XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, the phenomenal young cellist Andrei Ioniță was called “one of the most exciting cellists to have emerged for a decade” by the prestigious Times of London. A versatile musician focused on giving gripping, deeply felt performances, Andrei has been recognized for his passionate musicianship and technical finesse. Born in 1994 in Bucharest, Andrei studied under Ani-Marie Paladi in Bucharest and under Jens Peter Maintz at the Universität der Künste Berlin. He draws his musical inspiration from the greatest cellists of our time, among them David Geringas, Steven Isserlis, Heinrich Schiff, Wolfgang Boettcher, Gary Hoffman, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Andrei made his U.S debut in 2017 with recitals in Chicago and Washington, D.C., and gave his New York debut recital in Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Recent highlights include performances with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic. Andrei regularly collaborates with Valery Gergiev, Mikko Franck, and Cristian Măcelaru. Andrei Ioniţă is a scholarship recipient of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and performs on a cello made by Giovanni Battista Rogeri from Brescia in 1671, generously on loan from the foundation.