Arne Zeller cello
Alessio Masi piano
Music from Mendelssohn, Janàček, Shostakovich, Dvořák

program
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2, Op. 58
Allegro assai vivace
Allegretto scherzando
Adagio
Molto Allegro e vivace
Leon Janàček
Pohádka (Racconto) for cello and piano
Con moto. Andante. Allegro
Con moto. Adagio poco rubato
Allegro
Dmitri Shostakovich
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 40
Allegro non troppo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Antonin Dvořák
Silent Woods 

Talented young musicians are the protagonists of this concert: the very young German cellist Arne Zeller (2006), who recently won the prestigious International Competition in Budapest, Hungary, stunning the jury with a masterful interpretation of Shostakovich's Concerto No. 1. He will be accompanied by Alessio Masi, a young emerging pianist, versatile multi-instrumentalist, and composer, acclaimed for his pianistic eloquence and exceptional interpretative creativity. The program they propose traverses some of the most suggestive pages of the repertoire for cello and piano, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It opens with Mendelssohn's Sonata No. 2 Op. 58, which combines classical elegance and Romantic intensity, placing the two instruments in a tight dialogue, with the cello called upon for astonishing lightness and wonderful colors. With Janáček's Pohádka (Fairy Tale), the immersion is into a storybook world made of evocative atmospheres and refined timbral colors. Shostakovich's Sonata Op. 40, on the other hand, introduces a more dramatic and contrasting writing style, where expressive tensions and emotional depth emerge. Closing the program is Dvořák's Silent Woods, which offers a moment of intimate poetry suspended between melancholy and lyrical sweetness, a nostalgic call to the wooded landscapes of his Bohemia.

Winner of the Grand Prix and the Audience Prize at the 2025 Budapest International Cello Competition and the first prize at the 40th Pablo Casals International Award 2024, cellist Arne Zeller, born in 2006, is enjoying increasing international success, performing in concerts across Europe, North America, and Asia. He began playing the cello at the age of six, and at 14, he entered Peter Bruns' class at the "Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy" in Leipzig as part of the junior student program. Since October 2024, he has been an undergraduate student in Frans Helmerson's class at the Kronberg Academy.

Arne made his debut at age 13 with Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, later performing as a soloist with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, the Euro Symphony Orchestra, the Kremerata Baltica, the Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra (Budapest), and the Hungarian National Philharmonic. Arne Zeller performs regularly in Germany and abroad, both in solo recitals and with various chamber music ensembles, where he has already had the privilege of performing alongside artists such as Gidon Kremer, Antje Weithaas, Lawrence Power, Jens-Peter Maintz, Peter Bruns, Valentin Erben, Torleif Thedéen, and the Eliot Quartett in prestigious concert halls and music festivals.

In 2025, he was awarded the ZIRP scholarship for young musicians from Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany). Since 2024, Arne has been part of the Stretton Excellence Mentorship Program under the personal supervision of Pablo Ferrández. Arne was gifted the Charles Maucotel "ex-Tortelier" cello (1850), courtesy of a member of the Stretton Society, and also has at his disposal an Antonio Sgarbi cello, generously provided by the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI eV. For the upcoming season, Arne Zeller has scheduled concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Greece, Romania, Spain, Japan, and Germany.

Born in Sicily, Alessio Masi is a young pianist and composer acclaimed for his pianistic eloquence and remarkable interpretative maturity. He is the winner of the First Prize at the “Hermès for Talents” competition, which secured him a three-year sponsorship from Hermès Italy and a European concert tour as part of the “HYTA” project. He has performed in some of the most renowned concert halls and theaters and has participated in numerous piano festivals in Italy and abroad, including Piano City Milan, Piano City Palermo, Piano City Madrid, Piano City Lisbon, RomaTre Festival, Palermo Classica, Puccini Festival, Terre d'Arezzo, Musica Riva Festival, and the Orbetello Piano Festival.

In these settings, he presents recital programs centered on strong thematic links—often introduced personally—through which he deepens and shares his passion for Italian piano music and the musical legacy of J.S. Bach. He is the winner of the second prize, the audience award, and a special mention at the 2025 Brunelli Prize. Currently, he is supported by the Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation in London for his recording projects and was selected as a solo artist by the Keyboard Charitable Trust.

In 2026, he will release his debut album entirely dedicated to the piano music of Nino Rota, in collaboration with Brilliant Classics. He was admitted to the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he is currently attending the professional studies program under the guidance of Daniel Epstein. Previously, he studied piano with Alessandra Ammara and Roberto Prosseda in Florence, and with Enza Vernuccio in Palermo. In addition to his activity as a performer, Masi is also active as a composer and will soon release his first album of original works for piano.