The opening concert of the International Cello Festival Zutphen 2025 is dedicated to music from the late 20th and 21st centuries. From lyrical contemporary classical music to exciting crossovers with jazz and rock – the versatility of the cello shines in all its glory tonight!

No fewer than three different cello ensembles will take the stage, with and without cello soloists. Asko|Schönberg, Ensemble CelloWercken, and the Cello Biennale Band will perform new compositions developed in collaboration with the Amsterdam Cello Biennale. A special highlight is the revival of long-lost scores by the renowned cello octet Conjunto Ibérico, which continued as Cello8tet Amsterdam in 2008. Jeroen den Herder, a former member of the octet, discovered the scores by chance in Spain and brought them back to Zutphen. Metrocelli, the four outstanding cellists of the Metropole Orkest, will give a preview of their later Late Night show. And to conclude: a fiery finale featuring phenomenal cellists Denis Shapovalov and Joël Siepman, performing Shapovalov’s own composition Paganini Rocks, written for two cello soloists and cello octet.

A sizzling evening of cello music, placing the metropolitan cello of the 21st century firmly in the spotlight!