My cello....sings!

Yvonne Timoianu, Solo Cellist

Yvonne Timoianu studied at the Mozarteum of Salzburg, receiving her diploma with highest distinction.

At the same time she was awarded the Prize of Distinction from the Federal Ministry of the Arts and Research in Vienna.

Her most influential teachers were

•  Stefan Popov and
  
  
•  Mstislav Rostropovitch
  
  
• and Serafim Antropov.

Her concerts have taken her from Tokio to Quito, from Capetown to Mexico, from New Delhi to Santiago de Chile, from Seoul to Panama... Yvonne received several international awards, among which

•  First Prize at the International Cello Competition of Vina del Mar, Chile, 1986
  
  
•  Gold Medal of the International String Competition of the UNISA, 1988

Regular participation in renowned Festivals as well as intensive appearances as soloist or in chamber music concerts in most European countries, in the Americas, Southeast Asia and the Orient are the hallmark of her musical career.

• 2008 she was invited to play the "Winterreise" of Franz Schubert before Arvo Pärt at Tallinn
•  and before Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo.

Given her dedicated involvement in contemporary music, a number of works were written for and first performed by her, recently one of Henri Pousseur´s last works.

Yvonne Timoianu has led master classes and workshops in Austria, Belgium, India, Korea, Luxemburg, Spain and South-Africa.

She plays on a cello by Giovanni Grancino, Milan, of 1721.

"Una concertista de gran magnitud"
(El Mercurio, Santiago de Chile)

"Yvonne Timoianu´s performance of Dvorak´s Cello Concerto....one of the most memorable experiences in music making.."
(Pretoria News)

"Elle joue avec une virtuosité carrément hallucinante"
(La Libre Belgique)

"SPRÜHENDE FUNKEN UND LYRISMEN..."
(Salzburger Nachrichten)

"TIMOIANU...the most attractive and mercurial musical personality...her passionate playing and almost incandescent tone...wide variety of tone colour...the masterly Yvonne Timoianu´s interpretation of the Arpeggione Sonata by Schubert...it seemed effortless and flowed on in unending song on her superb Grancino cello...this came to a glowing life."
(The Argus, Cape Town)

"Das souveräne, lockere, aussagestarke Musizieren...mit dem sonoren, warmen und differenzierten Celloklang von Yvonne Timoianu, deren künstlerische wie menschliche Ausstrahlung auf die Zuhörerschaft in keinem Moment nachläßt...ein Meisterkonzert, auf bestem Festivalniveau!"
(Luxemburger Wort)

"Yvonne Timoianu no es solamente una excelente instrumentalista virtuosa sino que, además posee una enorme dosis de espiritualidad...verdaderamente, un concierto memorable!"
(El Pánama América)

"EINDRUCKSVOLLE HARMONIE... Yvonne Timoianu formte jede Phrase... die zart irisierenden und dumpf vibrierenden Klänge ließ sie magisch aufleuchten..."
(Salzburger Volkszeitung)

"....masterful embrace. Music that stirs from the depths of a heaving bosom finds voice in the surge of soulful strains and throbbing notes. Yvonne Timoianu is at work again coaxing music out of her ancient cello..."
(The Asian Age)

"ANGRIFFIG UND DENNOCH BEHERRSCHT... eine geradezu elektrisierende Wirkung"
(Luzerner Zeitung)

TIMOIANU LET MUSIC SPEAK FOR ITSELF"...
(Pretoria News)

"Un magnifico concierto en el que la cellista, Yvonne Timoianu volvió a mostrar sus condiciones de extraordinaria ejecutante..."
(ABC Madrid)

Yvonne Timoianu took first music lessons at the age of five, learning violin.

The most pleasant moments related with those days were the special occasions when her teacher allowed her to play on his own violin, which was much, much bigger than hers and sounded much more exciting!

Seduced by the sound of the cello, Yvonne decided eight years later to give up the violin and dedicated herself totally to this new, fascinating instrument.

As a teenager, Yvonne could not stand romantic music or literature, she prefered instead to listen to Bach, solve complicated mathematic problems, learn about astronomy or invent a functionating „perpetuum mobile“. She wrote poems (but never love poems!), comic stories and science-fiction essays, she earned her first money giving alpine skiing lessons! Her parents are scientists (father is mathematics, physics and astronomy professor, mother is chemistry engineer), and everybody in the family was thinking that Yvonne will also follow this tradition.

Considering herself more talented for music than for anything else, Yvonne decided to become a professional musician at the age of sixteen. The fact that she received from her parents this magnificent Italian cello as a birthday present was very significant. Yvonne would spend hours and hours of practice with „Julius“, her new „intimate friend“, and „Julius“‘s voice was getting better every day!