Born into a family of professional musicians, Raphael Wallfisch discovered the cello at the age of eight. While studying with Gregor Piatigorsky in California he was chosen to perform chamber music with Jascha Heifetz, among others, in the informal recitals that Piatigorsky held in his home. At the age of 24 he won the Gaspar Cassado International Cello Competition in Florence. Since then he has performed continually worldwide. His extensive discography features a wide range of British composers, including concertos by Bax, Bliss, Delius, Finzi, Leighton, MacMillan, Moeran and Walton, and Britten's Cello Symphony. His recording of the Dvorák Concerto under Sir Charles Mackerras and the Martinu concertos under Jirí Belohlávek has been highly acclaimed. He has also recorded rarer works by Dohnányi, Respighi, Barber, Prokofiev, Richard Strauss, Menotti, Kabalevsky and Grieg. Many of Britain's leading composers have written for Raphael Wallfisch, including Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, James MacMillan, Paul Patterson, Robert Saxton, Robert Simpson, Giles Swayne, Sir John Tavener and Adrian Williams.
