Richard
Hirschl joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s cello section in 1989. A native
of Washington, Missouri, he began cello lessons with his father, an amateur
cellist. His intermediate studies were with Savely Schuster, associate
principal cellist of the St. Louis Symphony. He was accepted into the class of
Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins at the Juilliard School, where he earned a
bachelor’s degree in 1987 and a master’s degree in 1988.
Hirschl
was an associate teacher at Juilliard before moving to Chicago. He was the
winner of the 1988 Juilliard Concerto Competition, 1988 Irving M. Klein
International String Competition and 1980 St. Louis Symphony Scholarship
Competition.
In
addition to his New York debut with the Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher
Hall, Hirschl has given concerto performances with the Peoria Symphony, Jupiter
Symphony, St. Louis Philharmonic, Maracaibo
Symphony (Venezuela), National Repertory Orchestra, St. Louis Chamber Orchestra
and Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York. He is pleased to be playing the Brahms
Double Concerto with CSO Assistant Concertmaster David Taylor and the Ars Viva
Symphony Orchestra in September and the Strauss Don Quixote with CSO violist Lawrence Neuman and the St. Louis
Philharmonic in March this season.
He has
appeared in chamber music performances with celebrated pianists Daniel
Barenboim, András Schiff and Ursula Oppens, cellist Lynn Harrell and violinist
Vadim Repin. He is on the faculty of the Chicago Conservatory for the
Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where he also serves as head of the
string department and has a large class of private students. He plays a
beautiful Venetian cello made by Matteo Goffriller in 1710. He is the proud
father of Ava Clare and Vivian Rose Hirschl.
September 2012
