Zuill Bailey has always had a wonderful artistic relationship with the Indianapolis Symphony, with whom he performs regularly. "The opportunity to perform the concerto live with the Symphony was monumental for me as a performing artist," said Bailey. "To capture the greatest concerto written for any instrument live with the Indianapolis Symphony was an incredibly inspiring and a vital musical experience." Bailey refers to the Dvořák Cello Concerto as 'the Cellist's most celebrated Concerto.' "This recording captures the excitement, vitality and electricity that comes with a live performance." He performs the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in March 2012, and has garnered praise for recent performances of the Dvořák with groups such as the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The artist's passion for Opus 104 belies the composer's misgivings on writing a cello concerto: "The cello is a beautiful instrument, but its place is in the orchestra and in chamber music. As a solo instrument, it isn't much good....I have...written a cello concerto, but am sorry to this day that I did so, and I never intend to write another." The new Telarc release will also include the beloved Dvořák concert overtures inspired by nature and Czech mythology, such as The Water Goblin, Opus 107, and In Nature's Realm, Opus 91.
Jun Märkl is Chief Conductor of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony, and has worked with such groups as Orchestre National de Lyon, Munich Philharmonic, Gurzenich Orchester Cologne and the Radio Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, and has been a regular guest with the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Zuill Bailey performs on a 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. In addition to his extensive touring engagements, Bailey is artistic director of El Paso Pro Musica and professor of cello at the University of Texas at El Paso, as well as artistic director of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and Series, Sitka, Alaska. Renowned for bringing classical music to the broader culture, the cellist's many TV appearances have included a recurring role on the popular HBO series Oz, playing a musician who murdered a rival and found himself playing Bach behind bars. Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Bailey was graduated from Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School.
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1930 and today performs 200 concerts for more than 350,000 people each year. The ISO is the largest performing arts organization in the state of Indiana and one of only 16 year-round orchestras in the nation. Over the past 80 years, the ISO has received many accolades for its performances and recordings, made several tours to Europe and appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In 2010, the ISO appointed Krzysztof Urbański as its new Music Director.
