Star performer Gabriel Schwabe

Schwabe adds that growing up in a German-Spanish family means that he was exposed to an exciting mix of languages, food and music.

"I still have a great affinity to Spanish music and like to include a Spanish repertoire in my programs.

"From a very early age I was drawn to music, and as classical music was predominant at home, this was the music which most attracted my attention.

"One of my earliest musical memories is playing a tune from the Roman Polanski film The Fearless Vampire Killers by ear on the piano. So, whether it was playing film music, singing a Spanish children's song with my mother, or listening to a Shostakovich symphony on the radio, there was no distinction between genres for me as a child. And I enjoyed any piece of music which moved something in me," he recalls.

In 2015, Schwabe signed an exclusive recording contract with record label Naxos, and released his debut CD, Brahms Sonatas and Songs with pianist Nicholas Rimmer, the same year.

A recording of the complete works for Cello and Orchestra by Saint-Saens with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marc Soustrot was released in October 2017.

"These sonatas-and Brahms as a composer generally-are very dear to me as the expressive urgency and formal density of this music always spoke to me in a special way.

"The Saint-Saens album has a few well-known 'hits' among his works for cello and orchestra, but there are so many more pieces to be discovered which are really worth exploring as a musician," he says.

Commenting on Schwabe's second album, Andrew Everard, Gramophone's audio editor, writes: "This is a wonderfully focused recording, with a beautiful rendition of the tone and textures of the solo instrument, and a natural balance between cello and orchestra without spotlighting."

In 2017, the cellist also co-founded the project, Masterclasses Berlin, with violinist Hellen Weiss, which is to create a platform for this exchange of musical ideas.

It gives young string players of violin, viola, and cello the possibility to work on their playing in intense lessons, to learn not only from the teachers, but also through the exchange with their young colleagues, and to gain performing experience in the masterclass concerts.