We are excited to welcome British cellist Natalie Clein to The Octagon in Washington, DC! Clein has captivated audiences around the world with playing that combines commanding technique, expressive depth, and an extraordinary ability to draw listeners into the music. An OBE recipient and the only British musician ever to win the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians, Clein is equally at home with the great masterpieces of the cello repertoire and music of our own time.

Moving from the timeless beauty of Bach to deeply personal works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this intimate recital reveals the cello as both storyteller and song. The program features The Song of the Birds, a traditional Catalan carol arranged by legendary cellist Pablo Casals. Born in El Vendrell, Catalonia, Casals left Spain after Franco’s victory in 1939 and settled in Prades, France. He refused to return while Franco remained in power and performed the gentle melody throughout his exile as an expression of love for his homeland and an appeal for peace and freedom. In 1971, at age 94, Casals played The Song of the Birds in the United Nations General Assembly ahll as a spontaneous message of hope.

Join us for a reception after the concert where you can meet the artist.