Spanish-Dutch cellist Elías Arizcuren, founder of the Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico and a prominent advocate for contemporary music, has died in Madrid at the age of 83.
Born in San Sebastián in 1943 into a family of musicians, Arizcuren studied cello with Gaspar Cassadó, André Navarra and Sándor Végh before establishing much of his professional career in the Netherlands.
In 1968, he founded the Mendelssohn Trio in Amsterdam, an ensemble with which he performed internationally for more than two decades. But perhaps his most distinctive contribution came in 1989, when he created the Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico, an ensemble devoted particularly to contemporary repertoire.
The group received support from Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo-Yo Ma and became an important vehicle for new music. Under Arizcuren’s direction, it gave more than 60 premieres and commissions, working with music by composers including Iannis Xenakis, Luciano Berio, Franco Donatoni, Luis de Pablo, Sofia Gubaidulina, Edison Denisov, Arvo Pärt, Pierre Boulez, Mauricio Kagel, Terry Riley and Philip Glass.
The unusual ensemble also attracted the admiration of Yo-Yo Ma, who described Arizcuren as a “true visionary” and the Cello Octet as “absolutely unique”.
Alongside his performing career, Arizcuren was active as a teacher and author and made numerous recordings, both with the Mendelssohn Trio and with the Cello Octet.
His contribution to musical life was recognised in both of the countries most closely associated with his career. He was appointed Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in the Netherlands and, in 2021, received Spain’s Encomienda de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio.
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