Voice (The Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series) Hadewych van Gent & Yupeng He

• Ernst Reijseger (b.1954): Colla parte (Arr. for Cello Solo by Hadewych van Gent):
• 1Reijseger: Colla parte (Arr. for Cello Solo by Hadewych van Gent)05:44
• Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979): Cello Sonata:
• 2Clarke: Cello Sonata: I. Impetuoso08:33
• 3Clarke: Cello Sonata: II. Vivace04:02
• 4Clarke: Cello Sonata: III. Adagio - Allegro11:16
• Pēteris Vasks (b. 1946): Grāmata čellam:
• 5Vasks: Grāmata čellam: II. Pianissimo07:47
• Total Runtime37:22

Info for Voice (The Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series)

As part of the Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series, Hadewych van Gent explores innovative voices of the cello repertoire in a bold first album on Linn. The warm, intimate opening piece is Hadewych’s own take on Colla parte by Dutch cellist and composer Ernst Reijseger who continues to inspire Hadewych to this day. Pianist Yupeng He joins Hadewych for Rebecca Clarke’s passionate Sonata, which was originally composed for the viola; Hadewych is one of the first cellists to record the work. The album ends with Pianissimo, the second movement of Grāmata čellam by Pēteris Vasks which combines, as in Colla parte, singing with cello playing, thus creating an authentic form of expression and adding Hadewych’s own voice to the composer’s.

"The opportunity to record with such high level sound engineers and to graduate from the Academy with your debut album made is a very special thing." (Hadewych van Gent)

Hadewych van Gent, cello
Yupeng He,piano

Hadewych van Gent
made her solo debut at the Concertgebouw at the age of 17 and has performed in many different festivals and concert halls, including the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Dutch National Opera and Barbican Centre in London. She has given concerts in Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Brazil and the UK, sharing the stage with such renowned musicians as Edward Gardner, Sir Mark Elder, Jaap van Zweden, Reinbert de Leeuw, Max Richter, The 12 Ensemble, Andreas Ottensamer, Menahem Pressler and Janine Jansen. Recently, Hadewych has performed with Decca Gold guitarist Plínio Fernandes and violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason in duo and trio formations and will tour through Brazil with the trio in the near future.

In 2022, Hadewych was invited by Sheku Kanneh-Mason to play and sing on his album release. The performance of the piece that she arranged, sung, improvised and played was mentioned in The Times as ‘an intoxication invocation’. The collaboration with Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Decca Records continues.

Combining her passion for singing and cello playing, Hadewych is working together with composers to expand the repertoire for this unique combination. Out of this project, the next piece to be premiered will be with written for guitar, cello and voice by Rafael Marino Arcaro. This will be recorded with Plínio Fernandes in summer 2024. Her album Voice is part of her exploration of the different voices that inspired her to bring her singing voice and cello playing together. Honoured with the prestigious Bicentenary Scholarship, the album was made in collaboration with Linn Records and is part of the Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series.

Hadewych plays a cello built by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, generously lent to her by the Royal Academy of Music. She plays a bow made for her by Andreas Grütter, sponsored by Stichting SEM. Her studies were made possible by the Hattori Foundation, multiple Dutch funds, including Het Prins Bernhard fonds, and the Royal Academy of Music.

Yupeng He
Born in China, collaborative pianist Yupeng He is praised for her sensitive, delicate, responsive, and supportive performance. Described by Pan Journal as “a formidable duo partner that adapts well to each style and mood and maintains an impressive level of technical assurance and musicianship”. Yupeng has given chamber recitals in China and the UK, and works with many singers and instrumentalists. She is a member of YU Duo with violinist Eriol Guo Yu and Tulipa Piano Quartet.

As a song accompanist, Yupeng has won the Accompanist Prize in the prestigious Richard Lewis Prize 2023, the Joan Chissell / Rex Stephens Schumann Lieder Prize 2023, and she was one of the Young Artists for the 2022 Leeds Lieder Festival. Yupeng has made her debut at the Wigmore Hall on January 2023, when she performed Strauss Op.10 together with baritone Charles Cunliffe.

Yupeng has been selected as an official accompanist for several music festival such as the North London Festival of Music, Speech & Drama 2023. She has experience in répétiteur work especially for new opera projects – she took part in Tete a Tete: The Opera Festival 2022 and on ‘New Genus’ by Sun Keting, ‘Cummings & Goerings’ by Zhenyan Li, ‘Behind Gods Back’ by Joseph Howard.

Yupeng He has performed in several venues including Howard Assembley Room of Opera North in Leeds, Magdalen College of the University of Oxford, Cockpit Theatre London, French Institute, Italian Cultural Centre in London, the National Centre for the Performing Arts of China, Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Kecskemét. Together with her partners, she has participated in several competitions including the Kathleen Ferrier Award, Somerset Song Prize,the Joan Chissell / Rex Stephens Schumann Lieder Prize,the Harold Craxton Prize.

Yupeng graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a Master of Arts (distinction) and an Advanced Diploma in Piano Accompaniment following the study with James Baillieu and Michael Dussek. She has also participated in masterclasses with Hartmut Höll，Helmut Deutsch, Joan Rodgers CBE, Lucy Crowe, Susan Bullock, Amanda Roocroft, Denis Bouriakov and Alisa Weilerstein.

Booklet for Voice (The Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series)