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The Norwegian cellist Amalie Stalheim has been loaned a G.B. Guadagnini cello that was once owned by Mstislav Rostropovich. She will make her first performance on the historic 1783 instrument on 7 November 2025, when she appears as a soloist with the Riga Sinfonietta, playing Anders Hillborg’s Cello Concerto (2020).
She has been loaned the instrument by its owner, the Norwegian string instrument foundation Dextra Musica, from the beginning of the 2025–26 season, on an ongoing basis.
Mstislav Rostropovich owned several cellos including this late masterpiece by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, made in Turin whe the master luthier was 72 years old. It was featured in The Strad Calendar 2021. Dextra Musica acquired it for its collection in 2018; it was subsequently on loan to the Swedish cellist Torleif Thedéen.
Bergen-born Stalheim has won several awards including Norwegian Soloist Prize (2021), the Swedish Soloist Prize (2018), and the Ljunggren Competition (2015). She received the Nicholas A. Firmenich Prize at the Verbier Festival (2015). She has been named as artist in residence at the Malmö Academy of Music from 2025-27.
Stalheim has appeared with numerous international orchestras including the Gulbenkian, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, Ankara Presidential Symphony, Antalya Symphony, Iceland Symphony and the Swedish Radio Orchestra.
Stalheim told The Strad: ‘It’s a gigantic inspiration and opportunity for me! I’m so lucky to be playing this amazing Guadagnini. To follow Thedéen and Rostropovich, two of my absolute biggest idols, feels unreal and very special. To play the instrument feels like finding an inexhaustible source of sound and colours, and I’m looking forward to a long life together, to getting to know each other even better. Every day is like an adventure so far, exploring new paths and ways to colours and nuances.’
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