FESTIVAL CHAPEL FOR EUROPE – Constantin Macherel, violoncelle

We have the pleasure of inviting you to the 5th edition of our Festival Chapel for Europe, a series of 5 concerts by talented young artists and celebrated musicians right in the heart of the EU. On Wednesdays evenings 19:00, organized jointly with Pro Musica Pulchra.

4th concert on Wednesday, 11.10.2023 at 19:00 at the Chapel for Europe:

Nous attendions Paul Heyman, magnifique celliste. Nous aurons Constantin Macherel, tout autant magnifique.

Paul Heyman ayant eu un empêchement de dernière minute, a demandé à Constantin de faire le voyage de Suisse pour jouer pour notre Festival. Il jouera pour nous deux suites de Bach, Schnittke et une oeuvre de sa composition.

Soyons nombreux à lui faire bon accueil.

Constantin Macherel, violoncelle

• Johann Sebastian Bach (185-1750) – Suite N° 1 for cello solo in G Major BWV 1007
  Prélude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Menuet I & II, Gigue
• Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)
  Klingende Buchstaben
• Constantin Macherel –  (°1991) Toccata pour violoncelle ténor
• Johann Sebastian Bach –  Suite No. 3 for solo cello in C Major BWV 1009
  Prélude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Bourrée I & II, Gigue

Please be on time or come a bit before 19:00, in order to make certain a good seat.

Gratified in 2019 with 5 diapasons and praised by international critics, Constantin Macherel‘s first CD (published by Claves Records) as soloist with the London Mozart Players is sought after by the biggest European radios such as France Musique, RAI Classica, the RTS/SRF, the Finnish national radio as well as the Bayerische Rundfunk.

Constantin Macherel is a prizewinner of various competitions including several 1st prizes at the Jeunesses Musicales Swiss Competition. In November 2012, he won the 1st prize of the Schweizer Solisten Vorspiel for his interpretation of Schumann’s cello concerto with the Aargauer Sinfonie Orchester. In 2013, he was awarded a grant from the Leenaards Foundation to encourage young artists, and in 2018, he won the 2nd prize of the Rahn Musikpreis für Streicher. In 2019, he won a special prize at the Klaipeda International Cello Competition.
Constantin is also supported by Swiss foundations from which he receives prizes: Irène Denéréaz, Casino Barrière de Montreux, Concours Nicati-de Luze, Fritz Gerber Stiftung, Schenk Stiftung für junge Solisten.

Constantin Macherel performs mainly as a soloist and in recitals in Switzerland, Belgium, England, France, Italy, Austria, Holland, Czech Republic, and Germany, in series and festivals such as Lavaux Classique, Musique et Prodige, Ensemble en Scène, WEMP festival, Crystal Palace Festival, Festival Piatigorsky, Appeldoorn Chamber Music Festival, la Tribune des Jeunes Musiciens RTS. As a soloist, he has collaborated with the London Mozart Players, Geringas Chamber Orchestra, Sonoro Quartet, St. Petersburg Taurida State Orchestra, Aarau Sinfonie Orchester, OQPL Orchestra, Karlsbad Sinfonie Orchester, and many others.

Born in Lausanne in 1991 into a family of musicians, Constantin Macherel began studying his instrument with Marc Jaermann and then Susan Rybicki-Varga at the Conservatoire de Musique de Lausanne, where he obtained a Bachelor in Arts in 2012. The same year he was accepted in Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Musik-Akademie Basel, completing a Master’s Performance in 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he studied at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in the class of cellist Raphael Wallfisch, obtaining a specialized Master’s degree in Soloist and later a Post-graduate degree. He also attended master classes with David Geringas, Karina Georgian, Giovanni Sollima, Natalia Gutman, and France Springuel. Constantin Macherel plays a historical English cello by Joseph Hill I dating from around 1765.

Also passionate about composing, he wrote his first pieces at the age of 14, writing for all kinds of instruments and formations. He studied this field with the composers William Blank, Georg Haas, and Caspar Walter at the Musik-Akademie Basel. He received several commissions, including one from the harpist Tjasha Gafner presented at the 4 Seasons Festival. He currently has several projects in progress, including a concerto for cello, bassoon ensemble, and xylophone.

Last year, we were unable to hold this festival due to a lack of financial support from the authorities. This year, the authorities will be making a modest contribution so, we need your participation and we count on your generosity after the concert.

If you think music culture is important, please support Pro Musica Pulchra.
For more information: https://www.promusicapulchra.eu/en/