Samuel Niederhauser

Samuel Niederhauser is an up-and-coming Swiss cellist who, with his virtuosic, powerful yet deeply expressive playing, consistently captivates his audiences and impresses the juries of major international competitions – most recently as the winner of First Prize at the 2026 George Enescu International Competition. He has been principal cellist with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra since 2022. In addition, he performs with great success both at home and abroad, both as a soloist and in various chamber music ensembles.

Samuel made his debut as a soloist at the age of 9. Since then, he has performed with orchestras including the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Sinfonia Lahti. His list of achievements also includes various world premieres, such as the cello concerto composed by the Swiss composer Jost Meier, which he performed in 2019 with the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra. The Bieler Tagblatt wrote of this concert, which was broadcast by Radio SRF: „Samuel Niederhauser’s fingers glided over the strings with somnambulistic assurance, conjuring up an infinitely rich spectrum of overtones and venturing into more textured sonic realms. The young virtuoso’s cello playing displays admirable technical brilliance. But Samuel Niederhauser is also an intense musical interpreter.“

Samuel can be heard time and again at festivals, appearing regularly at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, in the music village of Ernen and at the Davos Festival. He has also performed at the Verbier Festival, the Lauttasaari Music Festival in Helsinki and the Variations Musicales de Tannay.

Since 2024, Samuel has been a member of the Berner Klaviertrio, which has secured a prominent place in Bern’s concert scene within a very short space of time. He has also shared the stage with, amongst others, Till Fellner, Julia Fischer, Oliver Schnyder, Nils Mönkemeyer, Dmitry Smirnov and Mischa Maisky. Together with Dennis Linnik, he won the prestigious „Jeunes Étoiles 2023“ prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival in 2023.

Samuel has also received numerous other honours and awards. Highlights include being named a laureate at the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and winning third prize at the 2023 Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki. The Brussels-based newspaper „De Staandard“ described Samuel’s interpretation of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto as „the highlight of the evening“, and, regarding his performance of Jörg Widmann’s competition piece, noted that he had struck „a wonderful balance between discreet intimacy and fiery enthusiasm“. The Helsinki-based newspaper „Helsingin Sanomat“ described his playing as “powerful, emotional and expressive”. He also won grants from the Migros Culture Percentage and the Kiefer Hablitzel Foundation in 2020 and 2022. In 2019, he was awarded the main prize of the Vienna Classical Music Prize at the CIMA Competition in Vienna. At the 2021 Concours de Genève, he won the Prix Guy Fallot.

Samuel writes arrangements for cello ensembles with love and enthusiasm. In 2020, he arranged the orchestral part of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante for five cellos and a double bass, performed the concerto as a soloist in this line-up as part of his Bachelor’s project, and will record it on CD for the „Aparté music“ label in 2027.

Samuel received his initial training from Thomas Grossenbacher at the Zurich University of the Arts, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree „with distinction“, and from Thomas Demenga at the Basel Academy of Music, where he completed the Master’s Specialised programme in Solo Performance and was awarded the prize for the best recital. In addition, he regularly hones his considerable musical skills at masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Jens-Peter Maintz, Louise Hopkins, David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Miklos Perenyi, Alisa Weilerstein and Troels Svane.Thanks to a generous loan, Samuel plays a cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore (1690).ls at masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Jens-Peter Maintz, Louise Hopkins, David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Miklos Perenyi, Alisa Weilerstein and Troels Svane.

Thanks to a generous loan, Samuel plays a cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore (1690).

CONTACT
samuel.niederhauser@gmx.ch
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