Asier Polo

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Asier Polo


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Origin = Bilbao, Spain
Instrument = Cello
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Genre = Chamber music
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Biography

Asier Polo was born in Bilbao, Spain where he studied at the Conservatory of Music with Professor Elisa Pascu. In 1987-89, he won first prizes in cello and chamber music at the National Young Musicians Competition. Later, he studied at the Queen Sofia School in Madrid, and honed his innate talent with Maria Kliegel at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne and with Ivan Monighetti at the Basel Academy of Music. Mr. Polo has participated in master classes with Natalia Gutman and Mstislav Rostropovich. During his studies in Cologne and Madrid, he also studied chamber music with the Amadeus Quartet and members of the Italian Quartet. Since then, he has appeared as soloist and in recitals in Europe, Asia and America. He has performed with such artists as Maria Kliegel and the late Alfredo Kraus, who, during his last years, invited Asier Polo to appear as soloist in his concerts at Covent Garden in London and Maggio Musicale in Florence, Tonhalle in Zurich, Musikverein in Vienna and others.

Achievements

Mr. Polo is fast becoming one of the leading cellists of his generationPOV-statement|date=April 2008, renowned in his native Spain as well as in other European countries. He has toured South America with the National Orchestra of Spain with Raphael Fruhbeck de Burgos conducting, and has concertized with the Opera Orchestra of Nice, the National Orchestra of Bordeaux, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Basel Philharmonic, the Monterey Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, among many others. Some of the conductors, with whom he has appeared as soloist, are Christian Badea, Gunther Herbig, Anthony Witt, and Alberto Tomayo. Asier Polo has recorded for CLAVES, RTVE, MARCO POLO and NAXOS labels and has also recorded for radio and TV in Spain, Germany and Japan. Spanish composers G. Ercoreca, Luis de Pablo and Antón García Abril have all dedicated works to this outstandingPOV-statement|date=April 2008 musician.

He recently played with great success in his Carnegie Hall debut in New York. Among his upcomingwhen concerts we find concerts with the Dresdner Philharmonie, Zagreb Philharmonic, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica RTVE, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canarias, Orquesta de Euskadi, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León among others.

He also plays often with the pianist from Legazpi, Marta Zabaleta, a prize-winner herself in many international competitions who is well known as a soloist. At present, he teaches at the Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco-Musikene.

Asier Polo plays on a Francesco Rugieri violoncello (Cremona 1689) bought in collaboration with Banesto.

External links

* [http://www.iemeve.com/musician.php?nombre=asier Photo gallery and interview]