Five Questions with ESO Principal Cellist Matthew Agnew
Matthew Agnew, Principal Cellist with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra
Matthew Agnew, Principal Cellist with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, will be featured in the orchestra’s January 25 and 26, 2025 concerts, where he will play the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1. Tickets for the concerts are available on our website.
What is special to you about the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto?
The Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto, at about 20 minutes, is shorter than almost any other classical or romantic cello concerto. It is, in typical concerto fashion, divided into three movements – fast-slow-fast – but there are no breaks between the movements. There’s no place for the audience or musicians to pause or reflect and reset, or even applaud. I like that because there’s no loss of momentum. It just keeps you going until you get to the very end of the piece. From a musical standpoint, I also enjoy the use of thematic material throughout – for example, the running triplets in the first movement that return to help drive the third movement forward. It is a well-crafted, exciting concerto.
From a performance perspective, I enjoy this work, as Saint-Saëns created his piece based on his knowledge of the cello and the difference between the theoretical limitations and the pragmatic limitations of the instrument. He constructed this concerto in a way that keeps the difficulty within the parameters of the instrument’s ability. It also keeps the cellist very active.
When did you start playing the cello?
My parents enrolled me in lessons when I was four. I continued Suzuki method training for 10 years. I stopped taking lessons in high school, when I moved to another state and started playing more rock and jazz, but at the end of high school, when I realized I wanted to really focus on the cello in college, I got serious about taking lessons again.
Who is your favorite composer?
Brahms, Ravel and Gershwin, in that order. Of course there’s Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, but to say those three are your favorites is like saying air and water and sunlight are your favorites; we understand that those are essential things that shape our world and that we cannot do without. So, beyond that, we can pick favorites, and I pick Brahms, Ravel, and Gershwin.
Brahms, in my opinion, is the closest to Bach in how he marries intelligence and beauty in his compositions.
Ravel and Gershwin use tonal language (harmonies) in a way that really speaks to me. Ravel took Debussy’s creation, Impressionism, and smashed through its perceived limitations, showing us how incredibly versatile it could be. Gershwin wrote pieces of music in classical formats like concerto and opera, but in a language blended with the popular musical genres of his time and location.
You play a lot of different genres of music. Can you give us an example of what artists’ music you enjoy playing?
In just the past week, I performed concerts of music by The Beatles, Coldplay, classical composers from Bach to Debussy, the film score composer Hans Zimmer, and a living composer’s seven-movement piece for choir and solo cello. I enjoy it all.
You’ve been Principal Cellist with the ESO since 2002. What makes the ESO special to you?
I’ve got three kids, and I’ll use a quote from a movie we were recently watching. In Kung Fu Panda, Po’s adoptive father says, “to make something special you just need to believe it’s special.”
Early on, I decided ESO was going to be a big part of my identity. The ESO is special to me because I chose to make it be, and I’ve been making that choice and prioritizing the ESO for the 23 years I’ve played in the orchestra.
I look at the people at ESO – fellow musicians, staff members, donors, and audience members – and the effort they are giving to the organization. I see them choosing that the ESO is special, and it helps me know I made the right choice.