MARCEL JOHANNES KITS
Cellist
© Kaupo Kikkas
"Marcel Kits gives dramatic expression to the deep, stirring emotions in his cello playing"
- Petra and Dr.Guido Grass, klassik-begeistert.de and klassikbegeistert.at
"...he adds colour to Shostakovich's 1st concerto. The first movement is close to bubbling, and in the second, he has simply managed to suspend time."
Cellist Marcel Johannes Kits is one of the most promising cellists of his generation, having won the 3rd prize at the Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition (2022) and 1st prize at the George Enescu International Competition (2018).
His most recent concerto highlights are the Elgar concerto with Philharmonia Orchestra (London) under Santtu-Matias Rouvali and with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under Antoni Wit, a tour in Belgium with the Belgian National Orchestra under conductor Eivind Aadland (Schumann concerto), a tour in Estonia and South Korea with the Estonian Festival Orchestra under conductor Paavo Järvi (Brahms Double concerto) and the Haydn concerto in C Major with Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta under maestro Neeme Järvi.
He has performed as soloist with many other orchestras such as the Brussels Philharmonic, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Kymi Sinfonietta, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Novosibirsk Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel SO Rishon LeZion, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, etc., and conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Vahan Mardirossian, Vassily Sinaisky, Olari Elts, Robertas Šervenikas, Volodymyr Sirenko, Andres Mustonen, Risto Joost, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Yuwon Kim, Tõnu Kaljuste, Ville Matvejeff, Arvo Volmer, Mihkel Kütson and many others. As guest principal cellist he has played with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Recitals have taken Marcel as far as China and Japan and to great venues such as Carnegie Hall, Bozar and Flagey in Brussels, the grand hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Moscow Conservatory, grand hall of Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, grand hall of Konzerthaus Berlin, Berliner Philharmonie, Boulez Saal, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Prinzregententheater München, Romanian Athenaeum, Tel Aviv Opera House and Jerusalem Theatre. Festival appearances include the Pärnu Music Festival, Young Euro Classic, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Musical Olympus Festival, MustonenFest Tel Aviv, etc.
Marcel showed great interest in the cello when he was just four years old, and began his first lessons at the age of five. He studied with Laine Leichter and Mart Laas in Tallinn Music High School and from 2014, with prof. Francis Gouton at the Trossingen University of Music. Since 2018 Marcel is continuing his studies at the Berlin University of the Arts with prof. Jens Peter Maintz. Masterclasses have given him the opportunity to work with Steven Isserlis, prof. Ivan Monighetti, prof. David Geringas, prof. Maria Kliegel, prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, prof. Wen-Sinn Yang, prof. Jan-Erik Gustafsson, prof. Marko Ylönen and many others.
Marcel receives a scholarship from the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein and participates regularly in the intensive music weeks and activities offered by the Academy. He is supported by Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Association of Estonian Professional Musicians, which awarded him the “Musician of the year” prize in 2019.
Marcel plays an Italian cello made by Francesco Ruggeri (Cremona, 1674) and a bow made by Victor Fetique, both kindly on loan to him by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
"...even the most refined pianissimi – and the Estonian dares to do so – pass the stage and capture attention...he astonishes with his freedom of tone"
Nicolas Blanmont, LaLibre
© Kaupo Kikkas
Repertoire
Vidmantas Bartulis
Concerto for 2 violins (arranged for
2 cellos)
Antonin Dvorak
Cello concerto Op. 104
Phillip Glass
Double concerto for violin and cello
Giovanni Benedetto Platti
Cello concerto D-major WD 650
Camille Saint-Saens
Cello concerto No. 1 Op. 33
Dmitri Shostakovich
Cello concerto No. 1 Op. 107
Cello concerto No. 2 Op. 126
Erkki-Sven Tüür
Cello concerto No. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
Triple concerto Op. 56
Edward Elgar
Cello concerto Op. 85
Joseph Haydn
Cello concerto C-major, Hob.VIIb:1
Cello concerto D-major, Hob.VIIb:2
Sergei Prokofiev
Sinfonia concertante Op. 125
Robert Schumann
Cello concerto Op. 129
Richard Strauss
Don Quixote Op. 35
Antonio Vivaldi
Double concerto for 2 cellos G-minor, RV 31
Double concerto for violin and cello F-major, RV 544
Johannes Brahms
Double concerto Op. 102
René Eespere
Concertatus celatus
Krzysztof Penderecki
Concerto grosso for 3 cellos
Arvo Pärt
Cello concerto "Pro et contra"
Urmas Sisask
Cello concerto „Black hole M-87“ Op. 161
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Variations on a Rococo theme Op. 33
Jörg Widmann
5 Albumblätter