Kim Cook, violoncello

Hailed as "the superb American cellist" (Die Rheinpfalz, Frankfurt), Kim Cook has been acclaimed for her "truly glorious tone" (Musical Opinion, London), "ravishing colors and textures" (New York Concert Review, Carnegie Hall), and "keen awareness of line and style" (The Strad). Ms. Cook has performed as a soloist in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, China, Israel, Jordan, Latin America, and throughout the United States. She has toured extensively as an International Artistic Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, presenting concerts and master classes throughout the world. Television and radio broadcasts of Ms. Cook's performances have been heard in Brazil, China, and the United States. She has recorded the concertos by Dvorak and Haydn as well as the solo sonatas of Kodaly, Crumb, and Hindemith. A graduate of Yale and the University of Illinois, Ms. Cook studied with Gabriel Magyar, Aldo Parisot, Alan Harris, and Janos Starker. She was principal cellist of the Sao Paulo Symphony under the direction of Eleazar de Carvalho, and taught at New Mexico State.

As professor of cello at Penn State, she has one of the important cello studios in the Northeast, attracting talented cellists from Europe and throughout the United States. The Penn State Cello Choir has become recognized for its performances and for their Penn State Cello Festivals. Cook's students have won many prestigious awards and have received assistantships and scholarships to attend excellent graduate programs. Former students currently occupy positions in orchestras and music schools in the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Taiwan.

This artist was selected for inclusion in the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour Roster. Funding may be available to support performance engagements with presenters in DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VA, WV and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Penn State Cello Choir	Kim Cook's Cello Studio
The Graduate String Quartet	The 2001 Penn State Cello Festival
The 2002 PSU Cello Festival	Cook shares her Music with the World
Penn State Profile/ Centre Daily Times: Kim Cook, Professor of Cello	Cello Recital -- "Mostly Music of the Americas"
Kim Cook Profiled in Who's Who in America, CD Recording of Dvorak Concerto Released

Recordings:

Reviews Kim Cook, cellist Wigmore Hall, Solo Recital, July 24, 2000 "truly glorious tone" "She tackled Kodaly's daunting Solo Sonata with a deal of technical skill" "She plays with a natural lyrical feeling" "Barber proved to be the best performance of the evening, eloquent, urgent and structurally sound. Kim Cook is certainly a talent to watch." Geoffrey Crankshaw, Musical Opinion (London) "Folk music-most notably from the Americas-was central to this recital by Kim Cook and Carl Blake, their programme both enterprising and varied." "In a work renowned for its demanding technical hurdles (Kodaly Sonata for Solo Cello Op. 8) Cook's sense of impetus and perception of the assimilated Eastern European folk music was vividly demonstrated." "The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly Barber's Cello Sonata... a strong performance of a work which is ironically difficult to bring off--the lyricism of the music suited her style of playing and both artists demonstrated a keen awareness of line and colour." Joanne Talbot, The Strad Carnegie Hall, Solo Recital "she brought to the fore a wide assortment of ravishing colors and textures" "This interpretation put a thoughtful new light on Kodaly's challenging, nay, daunting score" "songfully and sensitively conveyed" (Brahms, Adagio affettuoso) "sympathetically and elegantly rendered" (Faure, Ravel) Harris Goldsmith, New York Concert Review Cleveland Museum of Art, Solo Recital, premiere of Eberhard Cello Suite "Dramatic cello suite earns standing ovation" (headline), "won a spontaneous standing ovation...the piece made a powerful impact....glissandos up and down the strings, pizzicatos that snap, and timbres that exploit the tone qualities of the cello...created an expressive palette of sonorities" "Cook's warm tone and singing line suited the music...gifted with an affinity for contemporary music, Cook rose to another level in her inspired performance of the Eberhard Suite" Cleveland Plain Dealer Artistic Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, Latin American Tours "extraordinary" El Occidental (Guadalajara, Mexico) "splendid" Ocho Columnas (Guadalajara) "A 'Wow' was heard from the audienceáas they gave their applause to the Piazzolla Tango." "presented a flawless performance, proving why they are this year's artistic ambassadors." El Norte (Monterrey, Mexico) "Excellent interpretations of sonatas by Cesar Franck and Samuel Barber"..."full and passionate dramatic touch....executed the piece with authenticity and musicality" "the excellent performance made the Monterrey audience hungry for knowledge of Barber" El Diario de Monterrey "exquisite performance" "The concert carried the senses...I was suspended in a gentle but deep feeling atmosphere" "performance was simple but 'sharp', like a brand new blade in its movements and techniques, and like a caring butterfly in its deep feelings" La Informacion (Santiago, Dominican Republic) "Flawless performance" Criação (Manaus, Brazil) Carnegie Hall, Castalia Trio Recital "upbeat program, excellently played...cello solos sang with sweetness and light" New York Concert Review Stuttgart, Beethoven Triple Concerto "trio of virtuosos, outstanding interpretation...melodic, colorful tone quality in the Largo, stimulating rhythmic impulse in the fiery final movement" Stuttgart Journal Frankfurt, Haydn Concerto in C Major with the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic "superb" "clearly defined, energetic line. The cello virtuoso solved all musical and technical challenges of the three movements with bravura and musical temperament." Die Rheinpfalz (Frankfurt) Tour of China; Beijing, Nanjing, Jinan, and Shanghai; "dazzling...triumphant...the performance captured our hearts." Daily Xinhua (Nanjing) "the performance awakened our senses" Nanjing Daily Journal Cleveland Museum of Art, premiere of Episodes for Horn and Cello by Jonathan McNair "beautiful performance from cellist Kim Cook" Cleveland Plain Dealer Review of CD of Solo Sonatas by Kodaly, Crumb, and Hindemith, "a performance of great merit, one that will bear repeated hearings" "The music is offered with emotion and technical virtuosity". "an accomplished and emotional performer." Voices (PA) Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major, Lincoln Symphony "decisive and clean...difficult double and triple stops in the high register seemed to flow from Cook's masterful technique. Patrons immersed themselves in Cook's playing...alluring slow movement...she flew through triple stopsáexact pitch in high registers...an exciting performanceáoutstanding performance" Lincoln Journal Star Boccherini Cello Concerto, Pennsylvania Centre Chamber Orchestra "Breathtakingáa virtuoso display of cello technique...poised and elegantáoutstanding" Dvorak Concerto, Penn's Woods Orchestra "rich, effulgent tone...an ethnic and feeling interpretation worthy of comparison with Casals and Rostropovich. Her gorgeous tone and superb technique dominated the concerto. This was an evening to remember" Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, Nittany Valley Symphony "remarkable tone and virtuosity...breathtaking...clear, sweet tone" Centre Daily Times, University Park, PA Additional Reviews The Pennsylvania State University School of Music, University Park, PA 16802-1901 814-863-7984, FAX 814-865-7140, Photo by Christian Steiner