Cellist Antonio Lysy is an artist of international stature. He has performed as a soloist worldwide, in major concert halls including the Royal Festival Hall, the Concertgebouw, the Tonhalle, Salle Pleyel, Wigmore Hall, Sala Verdi, Berlin Philharmonie and Teatro Colon. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras of London, Camerata Academica of Salzburg, Camerata Lysy Gstaad, Zurich Tonhalle, the Zagreb Soloists, Orchestra di Padova e il Veneto, Israel Sinfonietta, City of  London Sinfonia and in Canada with the Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestras and with the Violons du Roi. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh and Kees Bakels.

Antonio appears regularly in solo and chamber music recitals. As one of Southern California's most prominent cellists he is frequently invited as guest artist to distinguished concert series. Recent performances include the Los Angeles County Museum of the Arts live radio broadcast, UCLA's Royce Hall with soloists of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Da Camera Society series, Music Guild Chamber Music Society series and the Clarke Library series. Other recent appearances include the Tucson Chamber Music Festival (where he will return next season), and the Music Institute of Chicago concert series.

A meeting of musical minds has led to an inspired partnership with distinguished Canadian pianist Jane Coop resulting in engagements to perform the Beethoven sonata cycle in the US, France, Canada and Italy.

Committed to special projects which enrich his diverse interests in music, Antonio has initiated and collaborated in performances of concert Tango, dramatised recitals and multi-media productions.  He enjoys exploring the versatility of the cello's voice from baroque to electric. Having this widerange in scope, literally at his fingertips, has also deepened his commitment to contemporary music. These aspects have been key ingredients in commissioning and premiering works by Canadian and American composers such as Brian Cherney, Paul Chihara, John Rea and Denys Bouliane.

His love and commitment to chamber music is also demonstrated by his founding in 1989 and musical directorship of the annual Incontri in Terra di Siena chamber music festival in Tuscany, Italy. This year will mark its 20th anniversary season. Distinguished artists from around the globe take part in this idyllic summer retreat, which is crowned by performances in medieval fortresses, palazzi and churches in the Southern Tuscan region of the Val d'Orcia.

Mr. Lysy has recorded extensively for CBC Radio, BBC Radio, Classic FM and other European radio networks. In addition, he has recorded for the Claves, Dinemec Classics, Fonè and Pelléas labels. His live recording of solo cello repertoire by Bach, Berio, Henze and Walton was released on the Pelléas label to high critical acclaim ("...some of the most beautiful Bach ever heard"-La Presse, Montréal).

In addition to his concert career, Antonio Lysy was, for a number of years, professor at McGill University in Montreal, and visiting professor at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland. In the summer of 2003 he accepted the position of Professor at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) where he now resides.

He plays on a Carlo Tognoni cello made in Bologna in 1700.

To learn more about Antonio Lysy please visit his personal website www.antoniolysy.com