Mark Kosower

Principal Cello
Louis D. Beaumont Endowed Chair
The Cleveland Orchestra

Mark Kosower joined The Cleveland Orchestra as principal cello in July 2010. He served as solo cellist (a position equivalent to the American title of principal cello) of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany from 2006 to 2010 and was professor of cello and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2005 to 2007. Mr. Kosower joined the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music in September 2010.

In addition to his orchestral career and educational activities, Mr. Kosower continues an active career as a soloist. He makes regular appearances as guest soloist with orchestras, both nationally and internationally, and has performed with the Orchestre de Paris, Hong Kong Philharmonic, China National Symphony Orchestra (Beijing), National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. In the United States, Mr. Kosower has appeared with the symphony orchestras of Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Seattle, and with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, among many others.

Two recent albums featuring Mr. Kosower were released on the Naxos label. The first is of the complete cello concertos of Alberto Ginastera with the Bamberg Symphony, making Mr. Kosower the first cellist to record the complete catalog of works for solo cello by the composer. The second release is of Miklós Rózsa’s Rhapsodie for cello and orchestra — a world premiere recording. In addition to his Naxos catalog, Mr. Kosower has recorded for Ambitus, Delos, and VAI.

As a recitalist, Mr. Kosower has appeared on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Aspen Music Festival, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. He has also performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Juilliard String Quartet. Among his many accolades, he is an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient.

Wisconsin-born Mark Kosower began to study cello at the age of one-and-a-half with his father, who studied with former Cleveland Orchestra principal cello Ernst Silberstein. Mr. Kosower holds a bachelor’s degree and artist diploma in cello performance from Indiana University, where he studied with Janos Starker, and a master’s degree and artist diploma in cello performance from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Joel Krosnick.