Stauffer lecturer since 2015.
Born in Recife, Brazil, in 1957 to a family of musicians, Antonio Meneses began his cello studies at the age of ten. When he was sixteen, he met the famous cellist Antonio Janigro who took him to Europe to take his courses in Düsseldorf and Stuttgart.
In 1977 Antonio Meneses won first prize at the ARD International Competition in Munich, and in 1982 he received first prize and a gold medal at the ‘Tchaikovsky’ Competition in Moscow.
Appearing in all the musical capitals of Europe, North and South America and Asia, Antonio Meneses performs regularly with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Among the conductors with whom he has collaborated are Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti, Neeme Järvi, Mariss Jansons, Herbert von Karajan, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Andre Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, Kurt Sanderling, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Temirkanov, and Christian Thielemann.
Antonio Meneses is also a regular guest at numerous music festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna and Berlin Festwochen, La Grange de Meslay, the Prague Spring Festival, the ‘Pablo Casals’ Festival in Puerto Rico, the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, the Tanglewood and Ravinia Festivals, the Lucerne Festival, the Colmar Festival, and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival.
An active chamber musician, Antonio Meneses frequently collaborates with the Vermeer Quartet and the Emerson Quartet; every summer he performs in concert in Siena and in duos with such pianists as Gérard Wyss and Menahem Pressler. He also collaborates with the likes of Maria João Pires, Nelson Freire and Cristina Ortiz. In addition, Antonio Meneses was part of the latest lineup of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio together with Daniel Hope and Menahem Pressler.
In the recording field, Antonio Meneses has made two highly successful recordings for Deutsche Grammophon with Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker: the Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote. He then recorded the complete works for cello by Villa-Lobos (Auvidis France and Bis), David Popper and C. P. E. Bach (Pan Records). His most recent recordings include Bach’s six Suites for solo cello, the complete works for cello and piano by Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn performed together with Gérard Wyss on piano, and the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven together with Menahem Pressler. In addition, Antonio Meneses recorded Clovis Pereira’s Cello Concertos and Concertino with Northern Sinfonia (AVIE Records).
His first duo CD with Maria Joao Pires for DGG was released in March 2013. In addition to concert appointments, Antonio Meneses regularly gives master classes in Europe (Madrid – Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, Siena – Accademia Musicale Chigiana), America and Japan. In addition, he has been teaching at the Bern Conservatory since 2008. Antonio Meneses plays an Alessandro Gagliano cello (1730), or alternatively a modern instrument by Michael Stürtzenhofecker (2009).
High Specialisation Course
The High Specialisation Course - Stauffer Artist Diploma in Cello is an annual program of advanced professional training for young musicians with exceptional artistic qualities.
