Venice Anastasia Kobekina

• Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643): Lamento d'Arianna:
• 1 Monteverdi: Lamento d'Arianna 01:33
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): Cello Concerto in A Minor, RV 419:
• 2 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in A Minor, RV 419: III. Allegro 01:54
• Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937): Abendserenade:
• 3 Silvestrov: Abendserenade 03:39
• John Dowland (1563 - 1626): Go, Crystal Tears:
• 4 Dowland: Go, Crystal Tears 03:15
• Antonio Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in D Minor, RV 405:
• 5 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in D Minor, RV 405: I. [Allegro] 02:55
• 6 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in D Minor, RV 405: II. Adagio 03:51
• 7 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in D Minor, RV 405: III. Allegro 02:14
• Caroline Shaw (b. 1982): Limestone & Felt:
• 8 Shaw: Limestone & Felt 05:51
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974:
• 9 Bach: Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: II. Adagio (After Marcello) 03:28
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Cello Suite No. 3, Op. 87:
• 10 Britten: Cello Suite No. 3, Op. 87: IV. Barcarolla 01:58
• Antonio Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in E-Flat Major, RV 408:
• 11 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in E-Flat Major, RV 408: II. Largo 04:22
• Nino Rota (1911 - 1979): Canto della Buranella (From "Il Casanova di Federico Fellini"):
• 12 Rota: Canto della Buranella (From "Il Casanova di Federico Fellini") 01:12
• Barbara Strozzi (1619 - 1677): Che si può fare?:
• 13 Strozzi: Che si può fare? 03:27
• Brian Eno (b. 1948), Jon Hopkins (b. 1979): Emerald and Stone:
• 14 Eno, Hopkins: Emerald and Stone 02:17
• György Kurtag (b. 1926): Signs, Games and Messages:
• 15 Kurtag: Signs, Games and Messages: Árnyak (Shadows) 01:01
• Antonio Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416:
• 16 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416: I. Allegro 03:21
• 17 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416: II. Adagio 03:21
• 18 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416: III. Allegro 03:02
• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): Les berceaux, Op. 23, No. 1:
• 19 Fauré: Les berceaux, Op. 23, No. 1 02:43
• Antonio Sartorio (b. 1630 - 1680): L'orfeo: Orfeo, tu dormi:
• 20 Sartorio: L'orfeo: Orfeo, tu dormi 02:13
• 21 Sartorio: L'orfeo: Se desti pietà 02:45
• Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Cello and Bassoon in E Minor, RV 409:
• 22 Vivaldi: Concerto for Cello and Bassoon in E Minor, RV 409: III. Allegro 02:24
• Vladimir Kobekin (b. 1947): Ariadne's Lament (Variations on a Theme by Claudio Monteverdi):
• 23 Kobekin: Ariadne's Lament (Variations on a Theme by Claudio Monteverdi) 09:49
• Total Runtime 01:12:35

Info for Venice

Sony Classical presents its debut album from charismatic cellist Anastasia Kobekina, to be released on February 2, 2024. The “unrivalled musician” (Le Figaro) known for her fearless musicianship and “almost overwhelming sincerity” (The Strad) presents an eclectic concept album exploring her own multifaceted relationship to the city of Venice.

Venice, which showcases many sides of Kobekina’s artistry, draws listeners away from the lugubrious gondoliers and carnival masks that have provided our standard musical image of Venice. Instead, the album asks how much of what we’ve internalized about the iconic city is actually real. ‘Venice feels not just a city but an idea, a character in itself,’ says the cellist; ‘or maybe it presents a different character to each of us. It asks questions of you, fires your imagination.’

Her album presents an embracing, personal conversation between past and present, including music from the Renaissance of Claudio Monteverdi and John Dowland to the twenty-first-century of Brian Eno and Caroline Shaw. Also included is Kobekina’s performance of her own father Vladimir Kobekin’s work based on a melody by Monteverdi, “Ariadne’s Lament.” “This piece goes right under my skin, and recording it one of the most intense musical experiences I have ever had,” she says. “My ultimate goal in making music is getting beyond cello technique,” says Kobekina, “beyond the wood, the strings, the bow, beyond simply reproducing a sound or echoing a particular voice, and instead attempting to reach for that feeling when I sing in my most expressive, private and personal moments. Music at its most direct.”

Anastasia Kobekina, violoncello
Azul Lima, lute
Mariana Doughty, viola
Fran Petrac, double bass
Martin Zeller, baroque cello
Leonardo Bortolotto, viola da gamba
Basel Chamber Orchestra

Anastasia Kobekina
Hailed as an "unrivaled musician" by Le Figaro, Anastasia Kobekina captivates audiences with her stunning musicality, versatile performances, and dynamic presence. She is the proud recipient of the 2024 Leonard Bernstein Award. In May 2023, Anastasia signed an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical, and her debut album, “Venice”, was released in February 2024.

In October 2024, Anastasia was awarded the prestigious Opus Klassik Award in Germany. In February 2025, the German television channel ARD launched a four-part documentary series about Anastasia: “Anastasia Kobekina – Jetzt oder nie” ("Now or Never").

Anastasia made her BBC Proms debut with the Czech Philharmonic and Jakub Hrůša in 2024, performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. She will return to the BBC Proms in the summer of 2025 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She was also the focus artist of the Rheingau Music Festival in 2024 and will be the artist-in-residence at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Beethovenfest Bonn in the summer of 2025.

Highlights of the upcoming season include concerts with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich under Semyon Bychkov, DSO Berlin, RAI Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, as well as chamber orchestras from Basel, Munich, and Stuttgart.

Anastasia's performances span prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, including Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Lincoln Center, Konzerthaus Vienna, Berlin Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zürich, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Rheingau Music Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the Verbier Festival.

As a soloist, Anastasia has worked under the baton of renowned conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Paavo Järvi, Jakub Hrůša, Krzysztof Penderecki, Heinrich Schiff, Omer Meir Wellber, Vasily Petrenko, Charles Dutoit, and Jean-Christophe Spinosi.

Anastasia has earned acclaim at international competitions, including the Tchaikovsky Competition (St. Petersburg, 2019) and the Enescu Competition (Bucharest, 2016). She was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2018 to 2021 and received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Artists Award in 2022.

Born in Russia, Anastasia began her cello studies at the age of four. She studied with Frans Helmerson and Prof. Jens-Peter Maintz in Germany before continuing her studies in Paris with Jérôme Pernoo. Additionally, she completed her graduate studies in Baroque Violoncello with Kristin von der Goltz in Frankfurt. Anastasia performs on a violoncello by Antonio Stradivari from 1698, generously loaned by the Stradivari Stiftung Habisreutinger.

Booklet for Venice