'Mesmerizing' young cellist Martins joins Auburn Symphony for March concerts

Cellist Gabriel Martins is renowned for having accomplished so much so young. Martins began playing the cello at age 5. He first performed solo with an orchestra at age 10. His passion for performing developed more in his teenage years when music started to become a central part of his life. "I guess once I felt I had something to say, that's when performing felt relevant," Martins said. Since then, after receiving his MM at the New England Conservatory of Music, he has become one of the world's most lauded young musicians. Martins' lengthy list of competition gold medals and prizes has led to many distinguished debuts, including at Carnegie and Merkin Halls, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Maison Symphonic in Montreal, with several US symphonies and the New Russian State and Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestras. Last year, the United Kingdom's Classic FM radio station named Martins as one of their "30 under 30" Rising Stars. As guest artist, this rising young star will perform in concerts March 11 and 12 with the Auburn Symphony. Martins' concerto repertoire includes every major cello work, but his choice for these concerts is the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1. "The Bach Cello Suites will always be our 'bible,' " Martins said. "I think Dvorak, Elgar and Schumann really mastered the romantic, soulful side of the instrument. Shostakovich took the cello down a completely different avenue that is unbelievably intense and thrilling. "The concerto is quite a dark work but has become one of the most popular cello concerti due to its thrilling outer movements," Martins continued. "This diabolically intense, rhythmic music is Shostakovich's most iconic style, and I'm sure the audience will see why. The slightly less-appreciated part – what I find most moving about this concerto – is the inner slower movement and the solitary cadenza that follows it. Here, there is a feeling of deep emotion, almost of a mother walking with her child through a freezing, bleak Siberian landscape. It is so beautiful and lost – extremely poignant. With that, Shostakovich makes this work into a complete masterpiece." In one of the many laudatory reviews for Martins, the global center 92NY writes, "Multi-award-winning Brazilian-American cellist Gabriel Martins is turning ears as one of the most exciting artists of his generation." In a popular new feature of Auburn Symphony concerts, Martins will join Maestro Ryan Murray before each concert for a "get-to-know-you" chat and Q&A with the soloist. Maestro Murray will also acquaint audiences in pre-concert talks with the other works on the program – in this case, a modern work called "Sidereus," written in 2010 by Osvaldo Golijov, a living Argentinian composer. The main work on the program, Elgar's Enigma Variations, is a tender, serious and moving work of 14 variations on a single theme. The subjects of these portraits are several of the composer's family and friends. The piece is known as one of the greatest works of the 19th century. AUBURN SYMPHONY What: Masterworks Series: Concert III – Musical Portraits When: Saturday, March 11, pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m., concert at 7:30; and Sunday, March 12, pre-concert talk at 2:15 p.m., concert at 3. Where: Placer High School Auditorium, High and Agard streets, Auburn Program: Golijov, Sidereus Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Gabriel Martins, cello Elgar, Enigma Variations Tickets: $50, $45, $35; under 18 years, $20. Tickets are available at the door, but pre-concert ticket purchase is advised.