ESO's principal cellist to be featured in Brahams concerts

It's short, but oh so sweet and Elgin Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Matthew Agnew plays it so very well.

Agnew will be featured in the third movement of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, playing a melody that the composer liked so much he rewrote it some years later as a song titled "My Slumber Grows Ever More Peaceful."

The piano concerto will be performed by guest pianist Alexander Schimpf with the ESO led by music director Andrew Grams. The program features the music of Johannes Brahms and Charles Ives and will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin.

In addition to the Brahms piece, the concert also includes Symphony No. 2 by American composer Charles Ives, who was known for his innovative compositions. It will be the ESO's first performance of the Ives symphony and continues this season's focus on American composers. Tickets start at $30 and a Musically Speaking preconcert talk with Grams begins one hour before the show. After Saturday night's performance, the audience is invited to the ESO's Mingle with the Musicians at the Elgin Public House.

Agnew studied Suzuki cello from age 4 with Marilyn Kesler in Okemos, Michigan. In high school he had the benefit of orchestra instruction and guidance from Shirley Mullins, a Janos Starker student, and cello instruction from Jane Katsuyama of the Dayton Philharmonic. He attended DePaul University on scholarship and studied with William Cernota from the Lyric Opera Orchestra. In 2001 he won second place at the Lansing Matinee Musicale Richardson Awards. In addition to being the principal cellist of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2002, he also plays with several Chicago-area orchestras, including Chicago Opera Theater, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and the Joffrey Ballet. In 2005 he was awarded the assistant principal position with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, a summer festival orchestra in Lancaster, Ohio.

Schimpf has risen to prominence by winning a series of competitions - first the 2008 German Music Competition, a distinction no pianist had earned for 14 years, then winning first prize at the 2009 International Beethoven Competition in Vienna and finally emerging as the first German pianist ever to win First Prize at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition. His final round performance that year at Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra was given a standing ovation and he was additionally honored with the Audience Favorite Prize. Since winning these notable awards, Schimpf's career has gained momentum with regular appearances at important music centers around the world.

Schimpf studied piano with Wolfgang Manz, Winfried Apel, and Bernd Glemser. The pianists Cécile Ousset and Janina Fialkowska also played an important role in his artistic development.

Grams became music director of the ESO in June 2013 after an international search. A graduate of the Julliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, he holds degrees in violin performance and conducting and has already appeared with many of the great orchestras of the world. Grams was a protégé of Franz Welser-Möst and served as assistant conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra for three years. Named 2015 Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, his charismatic conducting and easy accessibility have made him a favorite of Elgin Symphony audiences. He recently extended his contract through the 2020-2021 ESO season.

For tickets to "Brahms and Ives," contact the box office at (847) 888-4000 or visit ElginSymphony. Org.