German-American Cellist Daniel Dorn was born in New York City in 2008 and began playing the cello at the age of three and quickly distinguished himself through his exceptional talent. At ten, he made his orchestral debut as soloist in Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in D major (RV 403).

His cello playing has drawn critical attention in features on NDR Kultur, the German television programme DAS!, and in the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung.

Daniel Dorn takes advantage of what string players have over singers: the ability to play without pausing for breath. He performs the Prelude from Bach’s Second Cello Suite as if in a single breath—gentle, fluid, and introspective. – Der Tagesspiegel, Frederik Hanssen

Daniel is a scholarship holder of Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and has received further support from the Neuhardenberg Foundation and Meadowmount School of Music, where he studied for two summers with Hans Jørgen Jensen. He also attended the pre-college program for highly gifted students at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media.

His concert engagements have included performances of J. S. Bach’s Cello Suites in Hanover and Paris, appearances as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major with Ensemble Tedesco, and recitals across Germany and abroad. In 2024, he made his Paris debut at Schola Cantorum and was invited by Jan Vogler to his masterclasses: Master Student – Master and performed at Schinkelkirche in Neuhardenberg. He also performed the opening concert of the Moritzburg Festival together with Jan Vogler in summer 2024. The concert was recorded and broadcast by MDR.

Highlights of recent seasons include performances of Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Geringas Chamber Orchestra under David Geringas in Berlin, recitals in Bonn and Paris, and a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations in Hanover in a benefit concert for Kleine Herzen Hannover.

Upcoming performances include recitals in Brussels, Hamburg, Paris and London, and a tour with Ensemble Matheus under the direction of Jean-Christophe Spinosi.

Among his early performances of particular significance was his appearance, at the age of eleven, at the official memorial service for Salomon Finkelstein, Hanover’s oldest Holocaust survivor, held at Villa Seligmann.

Daniel started cello lessons in the class of Sabine Lauer and later Stanislas Kim. Since 2020 he has been under the artistic guidance of Katharina Troe, who has played a central role in his musical development. Daniel has received further artistic inspiration in masterclasses with Clive Greensmith, Guy Johnston, Antonio Meneses, Martti Rousi, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Mischa Maisky, and Jan Vogler. At age 11, Daniel was title consultant to the BFMI production of Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach’s Six Cello Suites live from Athens.

In 2020, together with his twin brother Max, he was awarded first prize in the Jugend forscht competition in the category Mathematics / Computer Science for their research on twin primes. Daniel is a member of the American Mathematical Society. Besides music, he is very interested in psychology and has attended summer classes at Oxford University, where he also won the intercollegiate debate competition.

In September 2026, he begins his bachelor’s studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London in the class of Guy Johnston.

In May 2027, Evidence Classics will release Daniel Dorn’s debut album, an intimate journey through three of Bach’s most beloved Suites for Solo Cello. Recorded, edited, and mixed by Michael Fine, the album will present Suites Nos. 1, 2, and 3, while also offering listeners a rare musical curiosity: Robert Schumann’s accompanied version of the Second Suite, performed with Korean pianist Ji-Hwan Hong. Heard only occasionally in concert and rarely on disc, Schumann’s accompaniment illuminates Bach’s masterpiece through the lens of Romanticism, creating a compelling dialogue between two musical giants. A digital EP featuring the original, unaccompanied Suite No. 2 will be released in September 2026 as an introduction to the larger project.

Daniel Dorn plays a Jacob Stainer cello from 1645.

Photo credit: Peter Rigaud