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Echoes Across Time:
Bach and Beyond
Solo Cello Recital by
Anastasia Kobekina
SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER 2026
5:00PM
VICTORIA CONCERT HALL
Rising star cellist Anastasia Kobekina makes her Singapore debut with a solo recital of striking scope and imagination — one that traces the expressive possibilities of the cello across nearly a millennium of music.
The programme opens in contemplative stillness with “O frondens virga” by Hildegard von Bingen, a work whose spiritual purity and vocal origins find a natural resonance in the singing voice of the cello. From there, Kobekina turns to the cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire: three solo suites by Johann Sebastian Bach. Heard across the course of the evening, the Suites Nos. 2, 1, and 3 form a powerful architectural arc — from introspection and gravity, through dance and radiance, to expansive affirmation — revealing Bach’s inexhaustible invention and humanity.
Interwoven with Bach are works by composers of our own time, creating a dialogue between past and present. Narrenschiff by Vladimir Kobekin offers a darkly theatrical and sardonic counterpoint, while Bryce Dessner’s Song for Ainola unfolds as a fragile meditation, rich in atmosphere and restraint. A moment of hushed intensity follows in Pianissimo from “Grāmata čellam” by Pēteris Vasks, where silence itself becomes a dramatic force, and Penelope Axtens’s Sketch adds a concise, contemporary reflection on gesture and colour.
The recital concludes with a burst of rhythmic energy in the “Fandango” by Luigi Boccherini, reimagined through the electrifying lens of Giovanni Sollima — a reminder of the cello’s capacity not only for introspection, but for visceral, dance-driven exhilaration.
By placing ancient chant, Bach’s timeless mastery, and bold contemporary voices side by side, Anastasia Kobekina presents the cello as a complete musical universe — capable of prayer, poetry, drama, and fire. This Singapore debut promises an evening of rare intensity, imagination, and expressive freedom.
PROGRAMME
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN – “O frondens virga”
JS BACH – Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008
VLADIMIR KOBEKIN – “Narrenschiff”
BRYCE DESSNER – “Song for Ainola”
JS BACH – Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
PĒTERIS VASKS – Pianissimo from “Grāmata čellam”
PENELOPE AXTENS – “Sketch”
JS BACH – Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
BOCCHERINI / SOLLIMA – “Fandango”
(Programme subject to change at the artist's discretion)
THE ARTIST
ANASTASIA KOBEKINA, cello
With a wide repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, playing on both modern and period instruments, Anastasia Kobekina has established herself as one of the most exciting cellists of the younger generation.
As soloist, Anastasia performed with worldwide renowned orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Wiener Symphoniker, the BBC, Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica, Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the Moscow Virtuosi, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra Moscow, and under under the guidance of Krzysztof Penderecki, Valery Gergiev, Heinrich Schiff, Omer Meir Wellber, Vladimir Spivakov and Dmitrij Kitajenko.
Highlights of the 2020/21 season, include debuts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC) as well as recital debuts at the Verbier Festival and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival.
In June 2019 Anastasia won the Bronze medal at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg. She was also awarded the Prix Thierry Scherz and the Prix André Hoffmann at the Swiss Winter Music Festival “Sommets musicaux de Gstaad”, a reward that comprises a recording with orchestra for the Swiss recording label Claves (released in April 2019) Kobekina has been a BBC New Generation Artist from 2018-2021.
Anastasia has been participating in many festivals performing chamber music alongside artists such as Gidon Kremer, Renaud Capuçon, Yuri Bashmet, Giovanni Sollima, Denis, Matsuev, Fazil Say, Vladimir Spivakov, and Andras Schiff.
As a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician, Anastasia Kobekina performs at the world’s major venues and festivals, including the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, the Mariinsky Theater, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Kronberg Cello Festival, Festival „Spannungen“ Heimbach, the Easter Festival of Aix-en-Provence, Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern and Folle Journée Nentes.
Born in Russia into a family of musicians, she received her first cello lessons at the age of four. Following the completion of her studies in Moscow she was invited to study at the Kronberg Academy in Germany. She continued her studies at the University of Arts in Berlin.
She is currently a student at the Conservatoire of Paris and at the Frankfurter Hochschule (baroque violoncello).
Kobekina performs on Violoncello Antonio Stradivarius from the year 1698 generously loaned by Stradivari Stiftung Habisreutinger.
