“The glory of this issue, however, is cellist Nadège Rochat’s performance. She captures the improvisatory character of her first entry superbly and her memorably sweet tone is ideally suited to Dvorak’s near-vocal lvricism..“
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
Nadège Rochat is a distinguished voice among the young cellists of her generation. Her approach to performing well-known cello masterpieces is driven by a search for something absolute, and combined with her attraction towards new compositions, she has immersed herself in a wide range of styles over the years. Recently, Rochat has been compelled to shed light on lesser known works from the past which deserve a broader audience. Additionally, traditional world music and its interpreters are infinite sources of inspiration for her.
Her 2024-26 season sparkles with debuts alongside the Ulster Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, and Macao Symphony Orchestra. She returns to the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Staatskapelle Weimar, spotlighting Marie Jaëll’s Cello Concerto to honor the composer’s centenary. Expanding her repertoire, Rochat delivers Anna Clyne’s evocative Dance, Pēteris Vasks’ meditative Presence with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and Nuno Corte-Real’s Luar Galego, which she recently recorded with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León.
Nadège Rochat has performed in many of the world’s most important halls. Tonhalle Zürich, Vienna’s Musikverein, Konzerthaus Berlin, Carnegie Hall New York, the Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petersburg, The Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the KKL in Luzern, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico and the Victoria Hall in Geneva are just some of her favorites. She has performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Weimar, The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Dortmunder Philharmoniker, the Orchestra of the Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR), the Bochumer Symphoniker, the Orchestre de chambre de Genève and others. She has also appeared in the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festspiele, the Cello Unwrapped festival in London, the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, and the Settimane musicali of Ascona, among others.
In duo with Spanish guitarist Rafael Aguirre, she delves deeply into Spanish and Latin American repertoire, crystallized in their 2012 CD La Vida Breve and the 2022 world premiere of Lorenzo Palomo’s Fulgores double concerto for cello and guitar. Her solo discography reflects eclectic artistry: the debut Lalo-Milhaud unveiled first cello concertos by Édouard Lalo and Darius Milhaud with the Württembergische Philharmonie under Ola Rudner; the critically lauded Cello Abbey (2017) paired Walton and Elgar with Ina Boyle’s premiere Elegy, alongside clarinettist Paul Meyer and Staatskapelle Weimar; her latest, Dvořák-Caplet, features Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Caplet’s Épiphanie with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
A French-Swiss dual citizen born in Geneva to a musical family, Rochat honed her craft with Maria Kliegel at Cologne’s Hochschule für Musik and Robert Cohen at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Beyond music, she immerses herself in philosophy and sustainability, tending a farm in the Spanish countryside. She performs on the illustrious 1620 Amati “Ex-Vatican” cello, generously loaned by the Academia de Arte de Florencia.
