Born in Berlin in 1969 into a musical family, cellist Alban Gerhardt played both piano and cello from a young age. His teachers included Boris Pergamenchikov and Frans Helmersson at the Musikhochschule in Cologne (1989–93) as well as Paul Tortelier, Heinrich Schiff, and the LaSalle Quartet. After winning the ARD Competition in Germany in 1990, he made his Berlin Philharmonic debut under Semyon Bychkov the next year, and later won the Leonard Rose Competition in 1993. A highly acclaimed recording artist, Gerhardt has performed with elite orchestras and conductors across the globe including Kurt Masur, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christian Thielemann, Christoph Eschenbach, Myung-Whun Chung, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Kirill Petrenko and Andris Nelsons. As a recitalist, he has appeared at such venues as Wigmore Hall in London, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Alice Tully Hall in New York (his American debut), the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Musikverein in Vienna, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. A keen chamber musician, he regularly performs with Steven Osborne, Baiba Skride and Brett Dean, and has appeared with pianists Christoph Eschenbach, Peter Serkin, Jean-Philippe Collard, Steven Osborne, Cecile Licad, Lars Vogt, and Anne-Marie McDermott. Gerhardt has also collaborated with contemporary composers, including Thomas Larcher, Brett Dean, Jörg Widmann, Matthias Pintscher, and Unsuk Chin, whose Cello Concerto was composed for him.
