In Autumn 2024, Nicolas Altstaedt presented the world premiere of Liza Lim's A Sutured World with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich, followed by the Dutch premiere with Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam. We talked to the cellist about Liza's work, his collaboration with the composer and about the different ways in which he worked with the two orchestras.


Which aspects of Liza’s new concerto appealed to you in particular?

The reference to the figure of Leiermann fascinated me; the way it can be dealt with in an authentic and inspired way in contemporary musical language. Liza managed not to let the use of two bows deteriorate into an effect, but to integrate it musically as something necessary. The visuals were touching because they were at one with the sound.

What are the particular artistic and technical challenges of A Sutured World?

I think it’s the internalisation of Liza’s language. You need to understand what’s meant behind those black dots on a white sheet of paper, and it requires a lot of creativity to convey that which is close to her heart.

How was the collaboration with Liza? Did you collaborate on the solo part?

Liza was curious about my cello playing and my personality beforehand. In Summer 2022 we met in Berlin and I played her something on my cello piccolo. During my tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra this summer, she came to concerts after the cello concerto was finished several times, and we discussed small details in the score. The evening before the first rehearsal, we went through the part together. She was very precise with her ideas and requirements, and then, from the rehearsals with the orchestra onward, she gave me free reign.




Over a short period of time, you’ve played the piece with two of the world’s best orchestras (and conductors). What differences were there between those collaborations?

The main difference is that during the first rehearsals, you don’t know a work yet, and you feel it out. Ed and the BR were the best and most flexible partners. We tried a lot, and varied tempo and rubato a lot in order to grasp the work and get to its core. In this concert, the orchestra is very responsive to how the soloist sounds. The richer I made my part, the more it inspired the orchestra. In Amsterdam we all benefited from the rehearsals and performance with the BR. It gave me a different feeling of confidence and security from experience.

Working with both of the orchestras was amazing – the precision of the BR and the soundpalette of the Concertgebouw Orkest in my favourite hall was overwhelming. What emerged were two very different performances, neither of which I’d want to miss.

You have a very broad repertoire and feel at home with historical performance practice as much as you do with contemporary music. Is there a different way of approaching a completely new piece for you? Particularly with a composer being ‘approachable’ compared to the rest of the repertoire?

Not really, music is still music. Even if the type of notation has changed in the last 400 years, the problem of transferring music onto paper remains. Working with today’s composers is a matter of course for me, but it is not the case that you find all the answers. Even good composers are often reticent, because they are interested in what an interpreter might uncover in their music. They are also learning in this process… what comes closest to their ideas during the rehearsal is often notated differently on the very same day. It’s something we see with Gustav Mahler, where we see revisions in the symphonies he was able to rehearse and perform.