Steven Isserlis is a cellist of “delicacy and precision” (The Guardian). Connie Shih is a “wonderful pianist” and “musician’s musician” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Their performances together are a “delight” and “sheer pleasure” (The Times of London).
On Thursday, April 30, this internationally renowned duo will present an intimate recital as part of the Great Artists Series at Washington University in St. Louis.
The program opens with Beethoven’s 12 Variations on “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte,” F Major, Op. 66. Most likely written in 1798, the piece revisits Mozart’s playful aria, in which the bird catcher Papageno pines for a companion.
Also on the program are Robert Schumann’s “Fantasiestücke,” Op. 73 (1849) and Dmitry Kabalevsky’s Cello Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 71 (1962), which capture a series of complex emotional states; and “Ritournelle” for cello and piano, the final work by Vitezslava Kaprálová, a promising Czech composer who died in 1940, at the age of 25, just a month after her wedding.
The program will conclude with Beethoven’s epic Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69. Moving beyond the piano-and-accompaniment structure of earlier sonatas, this beloved work equitably distributes thematic material, representing a true meeting of equals.
Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih
A celebrated soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, educator, author and broadcaster, Isserlis is equally at home in music from the Baroque era to the present day. He performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and is a strong advocate for both historical performance and contemporary music. He has premiered works by Sir John Tavener, Thomas Adès and György Kurtág, among others.
His recordings range from Bach’s complete solo cello suites (Gramophone’s instrumental album of the year) to late works by Tavener and, with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Brahms double concerto. He plays the “Marquis de Corberon” Stradivarius of 1726, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.
Shih, one of Canada’s finest recitalists, made her orchestral debut with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at age 9 and later won the Sylva Gelber Award for most outstanding classical artist under age 30. As a soloist, she has performed extensively throughout Canada, Europe, Asia and the United States.
Shih’s regular appearances with Isserlis include chamber music recitals at Carnegie Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall. Their recordings include “Music from Proust’s Salons” (2021), “A Golden Cello Decade, 1878-188” (2022) and “Schumann & Moscheles: 1851 Cello Sonatas” (2026).
Great Artists Series
Sponsored by the Department of Music in WashU Arts & Sciences, the Great Artists Series hosts intimate recitals with some of the brightest stars on the contemporary concert stage. The performance by Isserlis and Connie Shih concludes the 2025-26 season. Read more about the 2026-27 series.
Tickets and related event
The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall. Tickets are $40, or $37 for seniors and WashU faculty and staff, and $15 for students and children. Tickets are available through the WashU Box Office, 314-935-6543. For more information, visit the music website.
The E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall is located in the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., at the intersection with Delmar Boulevard. The Great Artists Series is made possible with support from the Regional Arts Commission and from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
