Oct 30: Inbal Segev joins American Composers Orchestra in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall for New York premiere of Victoria Vita Polevá’s The Bell

(October 2024) — Long known as an established driving force in the creation of new cello repertoire for the 21st century, Inbal Segev begins her 2024–25 season in the company of the American Composers Orchestra in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall for the New York premiere of Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Polevá’s The Bell (Oct 30), following world and UK premieres of the piece last season in Dallas and London. Other season highlights include a collaboration with conductor Leonard Slatkin for performances with both the Nashville Symphony (Feb 28; March 2) and Las Vegas Philharmonic (March 15) of Mark Adamo’s new cello concerto, titled Last Year; and a performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the West Michigan Symphony led by Scott Speck (May 9), with the U.S. premiere of her own Trio for Cello, Clarinet, and Piano the following night, along with music of Bach, Debussy, and Prokofiev (May 10). In the holiday season, Segev joins Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for its yearly tradition of presenting all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos in one program, in both Chicago and New York (Dec 11–17).

Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Polevá’s The Bell was co-commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and American Composers Orchestra with the aim of supporting the mission of humanitarian organization Direct Relief to deliver medical supplies to Ukraine. Segev premiered the work last season with the first two ensembles: now she gives the New York premiere in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with the third. Displaced from her country after the Russian invasion, the composer wrote the piece in response, as she explained to The Strad:

“For me, the idea of this music comes from the Latin ‘bellum,’ which means ‘war.’ A work written during the war and by the war. A bell announcing war, a funeral bell, a victory bell.”

The title also alludes to Segev herself, whose name means “tongue of the bell.”

About Inbal Segev

Inbal Segev is “a cellist with something to say” (Gramophone). Combining rich tone and technical mastery with rare dedication and intelligence, she has appeared with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony, collaborating with such prominent conductors as Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève, Lorin Maazel, Cristian Măcelaru and Zubin Mehta. Committed to reinvigorating the cello repertoire, she has commissioned new works from Timo Andres, Avner Dorman, Gity Razaz, Dan Visconti and Anna Clyne. Recorded with Alsop and the London Philharmonic for Avie Records, Segev’s 2020 premiere recording of Clyne’s cello concerto, DANCE, was an instant success, topping the Amazon Classical Concertos chart; its opening movement was chosen as one of NPR Music’s “Favorite Songs of 2020,” receiving more than eight million listens on Spotify, and Segev has continued to tour extensively with the piece. At the start of the pandemic, Segev launched “20 for 2020,” a commissioning, recording and video project featuring 20 cutting-edge composers, including Vijay Iyer, Molly Joyce, Viet Cuong and John Luther Adams. Her previous discography includes acclaimed recordings of the Elgar Cello Concerto, Romantic cello works and Bach’s Cello Suites, while her popular YouTube masterclass series, Musings with Inbal Segev, has thousands of international subscribers and over two million views to date.

A native of Israel, at 16 Segev was invited by Isaac Stern to continue her cello studies in the U.S., where she earned degrees from Yale University and the Juilliard School, before co-founding the Amerigo Trio with former New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow and violist Karen Dreyfus. Segev’s cello was made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1673.

Inbal Segev: 2024-25 season engagements

Oct 30
New York, NY
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
American Composers Orchestra
Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Victoria Vita POLEVÁ: The Bell (NY premiere)

Nov 15–17
Hartford, CT
Belding Theater at the Bushnell
Hartford Symphony
Carolyn Kuan, conductor
ELGAR: Concerto for Cello in E minor

Dec 11
Chicago, IL
Harris Theater
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
BACH: Brandenburg Concertos

Dec 13, 15, 17
New York, NY
Alice Tully Hall
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
BACH: Brandenburg Concertos

Jan 5
Concord, MA
Amerigo Trio (Glenn Dicterow, violin; Karen Dreyfus, viola; Inbal Segev, cello)
Wendy Putnam, violin
Steven Ansell, viola
BEETHOVEN: String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3
BRAHMS: String Quintet No. 2 in G, Op. 111

Jan 24, 25
The Florida Orchestra
Keitaro Harada, conductor
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme
Jan 24: Tampa, FL (Straz Center)
Jan 25: St. Petersburg, FL (Mahaffey Theater)

Feb 9
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley Symphony
Joseph Young, conductor
Anna CLYNE: DANCE

Feb 28; March 2
Nashville, TN
Nashville Symphony
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Mark ADAMO: Last Year

March 15
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas Philharmonic
Leonard Slatkin, Conductor
Mark ADAMO: Last Year

March 20
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
“The Wonders We Carry Inside”
Gity RAZAZ: Legend of Sigh

May 9
Muskegon, MI
Frauenthal Theater
West Michigan Symphony
Scott Speck, conductor
DVOŘÁK: Cello Concerto

May 10
Muskegon, MI
The Block
BACH: Cello Suite No. 1 in G
DEBUSSY: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Inbal SEGEV: Trio for piano, clarinet and cello in three movements (world premiere)
PROKOFIEV: Sonata for Cello and Piano