Arek Tesarczyk was a versatile cellist who enjoyed a wide-ranging performance career, which included premiere performances of Rautavaara’s second cello concerto
The Minnesota Orchestra has announced the death of its long-standing cellist Arek Tesarczyk at the age of 59. Tesarczyk was a member of the orchestra since 2004 and died last month after a long illness.
The orchestra will dedicate its concerts on 5 and 6 June 2025 to his memory.
’He was humble, kind, “devastatingly funny,” (according to Principal Cello Tony Ross) and was a rock in our cello section.’ the orchestra wrote on social media.
Tesarczyk was born in Poland into a musical family. He won three first prizes at the Polish National Cello and Chamber Music competitions before graduating with honours from the Karol Szymanowski School of Music in Katowice.
He moved to the US to study with Stephen Kates at the Peabody Conservatory where he received the Gregor Piatigorsky Memorial Scholarship and earned artist diplomas in cello performance and chamber music as a member of the Peabody Quartet.
Tesarczyk was principal cello of the Winnipeg Symphony for eleven years before joining the Minnesota Orchestra in 2004. He made his solo debut with the orchestra in 2006, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. He gave the world premiere performances of Rautavaara’s Cello Concerto No. 2, Towards the Horizon.
Additionally, he performed wide range of cello concerto repertoire as soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Silesian Chamber Orchestra, Orchesta Sinfonica de Chile and Concert Artists of Baltimore.
As a chamber musician, he appeared in festivals in Europe, the US and Canada, performing in venues including the Kennedy Center and Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and Merkin Hall in New York. He performed widely with his pianist wife, Claudia Chen, giving recitals in the US, Canada, Chile and Poland.
He collaborated with such artists as Joseph Silverstein, Pamela Frank, Martin Beaver and Scott St. John, and he recorded Brahms’ G minor Piano Quartet with Jon Kimura Parker for the Bravo television network.
Tesarczyk performed on a cello crafted in 1997 by Christopher Dungey.
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