Claudio Jaffe, Cello

Biography

CLAUDIO JAFFÉ, cellist                                          

Hailed by The New York Times as "an elegant and accomplished artist" of "taste, technique, musicianship, and a contagious youthful enthusiasm", Claudio Jaffé fascinates his audiences with his colorful and passionate virtuosity.

As a recitalist and chamber musician, Jaffé has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world, including the Weill Recital Hall, Town Hall, and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City; the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires; Sala Cecilia Meireles in Rio de Janeiro; Sociedade Cultura Artistica in São Paulo; Wigmore Hall in London; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. His performance was found to be "eloquent with pathos and tenderness" bythe New London Day, which further commented on Jaffé's "superb intonation, robust sound, and overall musical command".

Jaffé made his orchestral debut at the age of 11, performing a concerto written for him by Brazilian composer Radames Gnattali. At the age of 18, he made his first appearance as a soloist with a major symphony orchestra. A winner of the International Villa-Lobos Cello Competition, Jaffé has performed with international orchestras such as the Slovak Philharmonic, the Calgary Symphony, and the Brazilian orchestras of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraíba, and Goiânia. He has also performed throughout the United States with the Delaware, Lexington, Elgin, Greenville, Augusta, Rockford, Missouri, Olympia, Bridgeport, Pensacola, Jackson, Owensboro, Paducah, and Columbus symphony orchestras to name just a few.

Chosen to perform in the Select Debut Series, Jaffé made his New York City debut recital at Town Hall. He performed throughout his native country as the winner of the Young Artists of Brazil Competition. As a prizewinner of numerous competitions, Jaffé won first place in the Villa-Lobos International Cello Competition, the East and West Young Artists Competition that awarded him a solo recital at Carnegie Recital Hall, and several symphony orchestra competitions where he was invited to perform as soloist (New London, CT; Poughkeepsie, NY; Pasadena, CA). He was a semi-finalist in major International competitions including the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, Russia; the Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Florence, Italy; the Naumburg Competition in New York; the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona, Spain; and the Viña del Mar International Music Competition in Chile. Jaffé was also selected as Musical America'sYoung Artists of 1987.

In addition to performing in over 40 U.S. states, Jaffé has been an active educator. He has conducted master classes around the world and has served on the faculty at several music festivals. He was a faculty member at Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University, and for 4 years served as Dean of the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University. He created and directs the String program at Saint Andrew's School in Boca Raton, FL and has been the Resident Conductor of the Florida Youth Orchestra for over 14 years.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Jaffé began his cello studies at the age of seven and gave his first public concert at the age of eleven. His early teachers included Iberê Gomes Grosso, his father Alberto Jaffé, Antonio Guerra Vicente, and Juarez Johnson. At the age of fifteen, he received an invitation by the distinguished Yale professor of cello Aldo Parisot to study in the United States. Subsequently, Jaffé earned his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees from Yale University under Parisot's tutelage. Jaffé studied in Master classes and special workshops with great masters of the cello including Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Paul Tortelier, Tokyo String Quartet, Janos Starker, Nathaniel Rosen, and Ralph Kirshbaum.

claudiojaffe@comcast.net                                      www.claudiojaffe.com

Joanne Rile Artists Management                         www.rilearts.com