Brief Biography
Heralded as a "sterling cellist" by the Washington Post, STEVEN HONIGBERG has emerged as one of the outstanding cellists of his generation. Mr. Honigberg gave his New York debut recital in Weill Hall and has since performed to critical acclaim throughout the United States in recital, in chamber music and as a soloist with orchestra. A member of the National Symphony Orchestra, he has been featured numerous times as soloist with that ensemble. He won rave reviews for the 1988 world premiere of David Ott's Concerto for Two Cellos performed with the National Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich (who hired Mr. Honigberg in 1984), with repeat performances on the NSO's 1989 and 1994 United States tours. Mr. Honigberg is noted for his explorations of important new works, such as Lukas Foss' Anne Frank (1999), Benjamin Lees Night Spectres (1999), Robert Stern's Hazkarah (1998), Robert Starer's Song of Solitude (1995) and David Diamond's Concert Piece (1993), written for and premiered by Mr. Honigberg.
Mr. Honigberg graduated from the Juilliard School of Music with a Master's degree in Music, where he studied with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins. Other important cello teachers included Pierre Fournier and Karl Fruh.
Voted “Best New Chamber Music Series” by the Washington Post, Steven Honigberg was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's chamber music series director from its inception in 1994 until 2002. Mr. Honigberg is a member of the Washington DC based Potomac String Quartet, which has released landmark projects -- the complete string quartets (eleven – 4 CDs) of David Diamond and Quincy Porter (nine – 2 CDs). Mr. Honigberg also has recorded Homage to Rostropovich, a CD of solo cello works written for the great late cellist, Frédéric Chopin’s complete works for cello and piano; Ernst Toch's cello compositions; Ludwig van Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano; an album of 20th century American cello works; the chamber music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold; and recordings of music performed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum -- four volumes of Darkness & Light.
Recent performances include a May 2008 performance at Merkin Hall in New York City, March 2008 WFMT Chicago radio broadcast featuring the music of Kodály, Rachmaninoff and Schumann, August 2006 solo appearance with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony performing Bela Bartók's Concerto and a May 2006 recital at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C..
Mr. Honigberg enters his nineteenth summer as principal cellist of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho where he is director of the Edgar M. Bronfman Chamber Music Series and has been featured as soloist with the orchestra in concerti by Barber, Bartók, Bloch, Boccherini, Dvořák, Elgar, Goldschmidt, Haydn, Popper, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Walton.