Anthony Ross
Principal cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra since 1991, Anthony "Tony" Ross also excels as a concerto soloist and a chamber player. He has performed standard cello concerto repertory with the orchestra and has appeared internationally as a soloist with other orchestras. Ross is also a significant educator who teaches at summer festivals as well as academic institutions. He has made several recordings of 20th century music, including one of George Lloyd's Cello Concerto that has been issued twice, most recently on the Lyrita label.
Ross attended Indiana University, graduating after studies with Fritz Magg. He went on for further studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where his principal teachers were Bernard Greenhouse and Timothy Eddy. Ross came on the scene with an impressive set of prizes in the early 1980s. Most prestigious among these was a bronze medal at the 1982 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, at a time when Americans were still rarely numbered among the prize winners there. He also earned the Stulberg Award, the G.B. Dealy Award, and a prize in the Parisot International Cello Competition, as well as two McKnight Artist Fellowships. One of those was for the Ross Rapier Cello Duo, which Ross formed with his wife, Beth Rapier; the pair had met while studying cello at Indiana University. The pair have often performed together and have frequently programmed the Concerto for two cellos by David Ott.
Ross began his professional career as principal cellist of the Rochester Philharmonic, spending four years there under conductor David Zinman. He became principal cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra in 1991 and continued to hold that position as of the mid-2020s. He has frequently been the soloist when the orchestra has programmed the major cello concertos, performing under such conductors as Edo de Waart, Eiji Oue, and Osmo Vänskä. Ross made his recording debut in 1992 on an album of chamber music by Randall Thompson on the Bay Cities label. His solo debut came in 1994 with a performance on the Boston label of cello sonatas by Rachmaninov and Elliott Carter, on which he was joined by pianist Evelyne Brancart. Ross has appeared as a concerto soloist with such groups as the Louisville Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, and the Moscow State Orchestra in Russia, as well as various regional Midwestern orchestras. He has continued to record, appearing on the VocalEssence Ensemble's 2010 release Behold This Heavenly Night, among other albums. His recording of the George Lloyd Cello Concerto, made with the Albany Symphony Orchestra for the Albany label in 2001, was reissued by Lyrita Records in 2024.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
7 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Reveries
Minnesota Orchestra, Anthony Ross, Adam Kuenzel, Marni J. Hougham, Eiji Oue
Classical - Released by Reference Recordings on 1/03/2012
Available in24-Bit/176.4 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4
Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä, Burt Hara, Anthony Ross
Classical - Released by BIS on 30/04/2013
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceGramophone: Recording of the MonthAvailable in24-Bit/96 kHz StereoBooklet available -
George Lloyd: Cello Concerto - II. Vivo (Single)
Anthony Ross, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 14/06/2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Carter and Rachmaninoff Cello Sonatas
Chamber Music - Released by Tresona Multimedia on 1/06/1994
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Funky (Like It, Like It)
House - Released by Toca45 on 15/04/2011
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo