Fortissima Raphaela Gromes

• Henriëtte Bosmans (1895 - 1952): Cello Sonata in A Minor:
• 1 Bosmans: Cello Sonata in A Minor: I. Allegro maestoso 08:48
• 2 Bosmans: Cello Sonata in A Minor: II. Un poco allegretto 04:13
• 3 Bosmans: Cello Sonata in A Minor: III. Adagio 03:32
• 4 Bosmans: Cello Sonata in A Minor: IV. Allegro molto e con fuoco 05:31
• Victoria Yagling (1946 - 2011): Larghetto:
• 5 Yagling: Larghetto 03:15
• Emilie Mayer (1812 - 1883): Cello Sonata in A Major:
• 6 Mayer: Cello Sonata in A Major: I. Allegro vivace 07:05
• 7 Mayer: Cello Sonata in A Major: II. Andante cantabile 06:59
• 8 Mayer: Cello Sonata in A Major: III. Scherzo 03:44
• 9 Mayer: Cello Sonata in A Major: IV. Allegro 05:53
• Mel Bonis (1858 - 1937): Méditation in F Major, Op. 33:
• 10 Bonis: Méditation in F Major, Op. 33 02:59
• Luise Adolpha Le Beau (1850 - 1927): Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 17:
• 11 Beau: Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 17: I. Allegro molto 04:50
• 12 Beau: Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 17: II. Andante tranquillo 05:11
• 13 Beau: Cello Sonata in D Major, Op. 17: III. Allegro vivace 05:36
• Adele Adkins (b. 1988): All I Ask:
• 14 Adkins, Brown: All I Ask 04:39
• Marie Jaell (1846 - 1925): Cello Concerto in F Major:
• 15 Jaell: Cello Concerto in F Major: I. Allegro moderato 07:57
• 16 Jaell: Cello Concerto in F Major: II. Lento 05:35
• 17 Jaell: Cello Concerto in F Major: III. Andantino sostenuto 05:43
• 18 Jaell: Cello Concerto in F Major: IV. Vivace molto 05:52
• Maria Herz (1878 - 1950): Cello Concerto Op. 10:
• 19 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: I. Langsam 04:44
• 20 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: II. Etwas ruhiger 02:47
• 21 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: III. Pochissimo meno mosso 02:51
• 22 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: IV. Allegro leggiero 01:47
• 23 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: V. Tempo 144 02:52
• 24 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: VI. A tempo 01:20
• 25 Herz: Cello Concerto Op. 10: VII. Fugato 02:17
• Elisabeth Kuyper (1877–1953): Ballad for Cello & Orchestra, Op.11:
• 26 Kuyper: Ballad for Cello & Orchestra, Op.11 07:15
• Rebecca Dale (b. 1985): The Lost Composers (Fortissima):
• 27 Dale: The Lost Composers (Fortissima) 03:37
• Radiance for Cello & Orchestra:
• 28 Dale: Radiance for Cello & Orchestra 07:10
• Alecia B Moore (b. 1979): Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken:
• 29 Moore: Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken 03:49
• Total Runtime 02:17:51

Info for Fortissima

A femmage to the heroines of music: The album “Femmes” (2023) delighted a wide audience with a musical kaleidoscope of female composers from the Baroque to the present day. Now Raphaela Gromes is continuing this success story with the double album “Fortissima”. The new double album (Sony Classical) with sonatas and cello concertos by female composers will be released on September 12, 2025, and the accompanying non-fiction book (Goldmann Verlag) will be published at the same time under the same title. Together, the album and book form a unique synthesis of music and text that finally gives long-forgotten female composers the attention they deserve.

The new double album “Fortissima” by cellist Raphaela Gromes with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under the direction of Anna Rakitina and with Julian Riem at the piano is a captivating collection of many first recordings.

Part 1 of “Fortissima” combines cello sonatas by Henriëtte Bosmans, Emilie Mayer and Luise Adolpha Le Beau with shorter works by Mel Bonis, Victoria Yagling and Adele. In the second part, the stage opens up for the orchestra. The focus is on major works such as the almost forgotten cello concerto by the German-Jewish composer Maria Herz, which was deprived of its premiere and due recognition in Germany during the National Socialist era. There will also be a world premiere recording of a ballad for cello and orchestra by Elisabeth Kuyper. Further highlights: Probably the first cello concerto by a woman by Saint-Saëns‘ pupil Marie Jaëll, whose underestimated talent was already described by Franz Liszt in a letter as follows: “A man’s name above your music and it would be on all pianos”. Rebecca Dale’s orchestral works Fortissima and Mediation, on the other hand, were even written especially for Gromes.

Raphaela Gromes, cello

Raphaela Gromes
"I was so impressed listening to the Gromes Riem Duo performing the Debussy Sonata at a master class in Munich recently. Admittedly it is not a natural setting for performance, yet the duo played with great aplomb. But what impressed me most was the obvious wish to communicate the content to their public.

It is their courageous curiosity and energy that impressed me. Their commitment to one another as duo partners for four years is further testimony to their commitment to forge a lasting meaningful musical partnership, and to share their musical discoveries with a larger public.” Yo-Yo Ma, 02/2016

Raphaela Gromes received her first cello lessons at the age of four. Being only seven years old, she already accompanied her parents – both being cellists – on stage. Her solo debut with Friedrich Gulda’s cello concerto in autumn 2005 was highly acclaimed both by the audience and the media. In consequence numerous concerts with the great cello repertory followed.

Various composers have already dedicated cello concertos to her: the world premiere of Dominik Giesriegel’s cello concerto in 2012 was followed by that of Valentin Bachmann’s cello concerto performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra Budweis conducted by David Svec. The third world premiere, the double concerto “Chroma” that Mario Bürki had written for Raphaela Gromes and Cécile Grüebler in 2014, brought her into contact with the Swiss military orchestra. Further on she collaborated with Kent Nagano and the Czech Philharmonic as well as with Christoph Altstaedt and the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn.

Raphaela Gromes was invited to the Jungfrau Music Festival Interlaken, the Vorsprung Festival of the “Audi Summer Concerts” in Ingolstadt, the Munich Opera Festival, the Marvão International Music Festival, the Mondsee Musiktage Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival. In addition to her career as soloist she is also devoted to chamber music. Her chamber music partners are amongst others Christian Altenburger, Isabelle von Keulen, Alexander Lubimov, Patrick Demenga and Mischa Maisky. Together with her duo-partner, the pianist Julian Riem, she regularly gives concerts throughout Germany and abroad.

Her first recordings that were taken with her longtime piano partner Julian Riem, were released by Farao Music in 2014. Since 2016 she is one of SONY Classical exclusive artists. In September 2017 her first SONY-CD with the works of the late Romantic composers Giuseppe Martucci, Leone Sinigaglia, Ferrucio B. Busoni and Mario Castelnuovo, that she recorded with her partner Julian Riem, will be released.

Raphaela Gromes has already won numerous prizes: in 2011 she was awarded the Musikförderpreis des Konzertverein Ingolstadt (young musicians’ scholarship), in 2012 she was first in the Competition Richard Strauss. In 2012 she was granted a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (German National Merit Foundation) and has been supported by Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now since then. Furthermore she received the scholarship of the Hans and Eugenia Jütting Foundation Stendal. Raphaela Gromes and her duo cello partner, Cécile Grüebler, received the Förderpreis der Theodor-Rogler-Stiftung Bad Reichenhall (young musicians’ scholarship) in 2014. In 2016 she was first in the cello solo competition of the German Music Council and became one of this year’s young talented musicians who receive special promotion (“Bundesauswahl Junger Solisten”). She was first prize winner of the Kulturkreis-Gasteig competition in 2012 and 2016 and also of the international Concorso Fiorindo Turin in 2013.

Raphaela Gromes is a graduate of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich where she studied with Wen-Sinn Yang. She started her studies with Reinhard Latzko at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in 2015/16. She took master classes with well-known cellists like David Geringas, Yo-Yo Ma, Natalia Gutman, László Fenyö, Daniel Müller-Schott, Kristin von der Goltz, Wolfgang Boettcher, Anner Bylsma, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmid and Peter Bruns, who accepted her as junior student from 2006 until 2010 at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig.

Raphaela Gromes’ cello is a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume instrument of 1855 that is provided by a private benefactor.

Booklet for Fortissima