BenjaminKruithof
- Cello
About Benjamin
Young Artist of the Year, International Classical Music Awards 2025 European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) Rising Star, 2024/25 Season Winner, George Enescu International Competition (2022)
Luxembourgish cellist Benjamin Kruithof is emerging as one of the most promising instrumentalist talents of his generation. His first-prize winning performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto at the George Enescu International Competition (2022) was praised as being “noble, singing, beautiful” (Bachtrack). For the 2024/25 season, Benjamin will be a European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) Rising Star artist, having been nominated by Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Philharmonie du Luxembourg.
The ECHO Rising Star programme will see Benjamin perform on some of Europe’s most renowned stages, with recitals in Cologne, Luxembourg, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Vienna, Budapest, Gateshead, Hamburg, Dortmund, Stockholm, Barcelona, Katowice, Lisbon, Brussels, Porto, Lyon, London and Baden-Baden. Acclaimed British composer Sally Beamish has specially composed a new work dedicated to Benjamin 'Reverie' for this tour; inspired by his Luxembourgish heritage. The programme will also see Benjamin engaging in outreach activities and other opportunities for professional development through customised workshops and mentorship schemes.
Further highlights for Benjamin this season will include his debut recitals at Alte Oper Frankfurt and Musikebouw Eindhoven, and performing as part of the opening season of London's newest concert venue; Bechstein Hall. Concerto projects will include Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and the Schumann concerto with the Heidelberger Symphoniker, for the closing concert of the 2025 Heidelberger Frühling Festival.
Contact
Availability & General Enquiries:
Adam Brady
Edward Pascall
Contracts, Logistics & Press:
Maya Feldman
Representation
Worldwide General Management with Askonas Holt
Season Highlights
Video
- Playing
Benjamin Kruithof performs Rachmaninoff's Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19
Artist: Benjamin Kruithof (accompanied by Marco Sanna) Piece: Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19 Recorded October 2024 in Philharmonie Luxembourg Permission from Philharmonie Luxembourg / Celia Ruiz Artacho / SARUME MEDIA Credit: Philharmonie Luxembourg
Benjamin Kruithof plays Haydn Cello Concerto in C Major
Credit: Solistes Européens /Philharmonie Luxembourg / Yunus Tuncali
Benjamin Kruithof plays Rachmaninov Cello Sonata
Credit: Philharmonie Luxembourg / Celia Ruiz Artacho / SARUME MEDIA
Benjamin Kruithof plays Dvorak's Cello Concerto
Benjamin Kruithof performs Dvorak’s “Waldesruhe” with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Copyright: Gouvernment LU Credit: Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Benjamin Kruithof plays Dvorak's Cello Concerto
Benjamin Kruithof performs Dvorak Cello Concerto with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Tito Muñoz. All rights owned by George Enescu International Competition Credit: George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra
Photos
Selected Repertoire
BRAHMS
Double Concerto in A minor Op. 102
DVORAK
Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104 • Rondo in G minor for Cello and Orchestra Op. 94
ELGAR
Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85
HAYDN
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major Hob. VII:1 • Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major Hob. VII:2
KAVELEVSKY
Cello Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 49
LALO
Cello Concerto in D minor
SAINT-SAËNS
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor Op. 33
SCHUMANN
Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129
TCHAIKOVSKY
Variations on a Rococo Theme Op. 33
VIVALDI
Concerto for Two Cellos RV. 531
WALTON
Cello Concerto
News
Press
ECHO Rising Star Recital
Elbphilharomonie, HamburgJan 2025The evening's programme included works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Benjamin Britten, the "Trois Pièces" by Nadia Boulanger and a work by the British Sally Beamish with the title "Reverie", which the composer had tailored to the young rising star. Kruithof tested the tonal limits of his instrument, and at times one could almost hear the wind in the trees of his Luxembourg homeland, which is said to have inspired Beamish. If Rachmaninoff's Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in G minor had not been on the programme, Beamish's work would undoubtedly have been the highlight of the evening. While Britten's Sonata in C major op. ...The Allegro scherzando Rachmaninoff turned into a rousing tour de force, after which Kruithof plucked the remains of the broken bow hair from the wood in tufts. In other places, the ear could hardly differentiate between cello and piano, so perfect was their harmony.
- Hamburger Abendblatt
- 29 January 2025
Discography
Benjamin Kruithof debuts at the Philharmonie Cologne
Tonight sees cellist Benjamin Kruithof make his debut at the Philharmonie in Cologne in his first in a series of concerts as an ECHO Rising Star.
The recital with pianist Marco Sanna includes the world premiere of Sally Beamish’s Reverie for piano and cello, commissioned for Benjamin by the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie du Luxembourg and European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO), as well as works by Rachmaninoff, Britten and Nadia Boulanger.
From Cologne, Benjamin returns home to Luxembourg for the next recital in the series, performing at the Philharmonie on 1 October. The concert will be broadcast live on Radio 100.7 and repeated later in the year. He returns to the Philharmonie in November to perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo theme with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
The remainder of 2024 sees Rising Stars recitals in Birmingham at the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space at Symphony Hall, at Amsterdam Concertgebouw’s Recital Hall, the Brahms-Saal at the Musikverein and Mupa Budapest’s Festival Theatre.
