Hailed by The New York Times as “an elegant and accomplished artist” of “taste, technique, musicianship, and a contagious youthful enthusiasm”, Claudio Jaffé fascinates his audiences with his colorful and passionate virtuosity.
As a recitalist and chamber musician, Jaffé has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world, including the Weill Recital Hall, Town Hall, and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City; the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires; Sala Cecilia Meireles in Rio de Janeiro; Sociedade Cultura Artistica in São Paulo; Wigmore Hall in London; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. His performance was found to be “eloquent with pathos and tenderness” by theNew London Day, which further commented on Jaffé’s “superb intonation, robust sound, and overall musical command”.
Jaffé made his orchestral debut at the age of 11, performing a concerto written for him by Brazilian composer Radames Gnattali. At the age of 18, he made his first appearance as a soloist with a major symphony orchestra. A winner of the International Villa-Lobos Cello Competition, Jaffé has performed with international orchestras such as the Slovak Philharmonic, the Calgary Symphony, and the Brazilian orchestras of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraíba, and Goiânia. He has also performed throughout the United States with theDelaware, Lexington, Elgin, Greenville, Augusta,Rockford, Missouri, Olympia,Bridgeport, Pensacola, Jackson, Owensboro, Paducah, and Columbussymphony orchestras to name just a few.
Chosen to perform in the Select Debut Series, Jaffé made his New York Citydebut recital at Town Hall. He performed throughout his native country as the winner of the Young Artists of Brazil Competition. As a prizewinner of numerous competitions, Jaffé won first place in the Villa-Lobos International Cello Competition, the East and West Young Artists Competition that awarded him a solo recital at Carnegie Recital Hall, and several symphony orchestra competitions where he was invited to perform as soloist (New London,CT;Poughkeepsie, NY; Pasadena, CA). He was a semi-finalist in major International competitions including the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, Russia; the Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition inFlorence, Italy; the Naumburg Competition inNew York; the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona, Spain; and the Viña del Mar International Music Competition inChile. Jaffé was also selected as Musical America’s Young Artists of 1987.
