Tobias van der Pals - eminent Scandinavian cellist, enjoys an extensive international career as soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. 

Awarded soloist degree, DipRAM for outstanding solistic performance at Royal Academy of Music in London 2007. Winner of the of annual cello competition of Royal Danish Academy Music in 2008. Debut from Soloist Class of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2009. Hailed by the international press, Tobias van der Pals has recorded several albums as soloist and chamber musician, for the labels CPO, Gateway Music and DaCapo. 

  • His technique is not only perfect but directly elegant. Breathtakingly difficult passages sounds with the same ease as the simplest tone combinations. It never rasps from Tobias van der Pals cello, and not for a moment he compromises with the natural, beautiful tone of his instrument. (Skanska Dagbladet, Sweden)

Tobias van der Pals plays on a cello from Modena made by the brothers Andrea and Gaetano Fiori in 1817. His main teachers were  Johannes Goritzki, Frans Helmersson and Morten Zeuthen. 

In 2009 he released the first official recording of the music by Leopold van der Pals; ”Works for Cello and Piano” (Gateway Music). 

  • As far as composer discoveries go, Leopold van der Pals is a major find, and just think what an untapped goldmine lies in those 250 works never before recorded.[... ] It has been brought to light by Tobias van der Pals in this stunning performance [... ] His technical execution and tonal luster are as one as he brings to each of these works expressive insights and profound passion. (Jerry Dubins, USA)

The album ”Sonata, Duo, Trio & 3 Fugues” (Gateway Music) was included on the list ”5 Records of the Year, 2016”, Awarded by Scott Noriega, Fanfare Magazine "Want List”.

  • "All four of the works on this disc eagerly await your exploration, but the Piano Trio, in particular, in my opinion, is a true masterpiece."  

During the season 2020 two recordings are up for release; Leopold van der Pals String quartets Vol. 1 with Van Der Pals Quartet, and a set of Concertos for cello, violin, and piano, recorded with Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra under conductor Fredrik Burstedt. Future recordings in 2020 includes the six suites by J. S. Bach. 

  • Bach's cello suites are a fierce test of intimacy. ... Tobias van der Pals achieves an outstanding accomplishment. ... The expressional span is incomprehensibly large. ...  After the final note of the last suite - lo and behold - he returns to the prelude in suite No. 1 as an encore, he has now reached an expression which is completely free and trustworthy that brings Yo-Yo Ma to mind, the cellist who knows the art of getting an audience of thousands people to feel at home. (Matti Edén, Sydsvenskan)

Tobias van der Pals is a member of: 

  • Van Der Pals Quartet, 
  • Lyngby Chamber Soloists, 
  • A Historical Musical Heritage (with soprano Gitta-Maria Sjöberg and pianist Polina Fradkina),
  •  Duo Concertante, Bayreuth (with composer/pianist Wolfram Graf). 

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Tobias van der Pals comes from a family with a great musical history. The discovery of the composer Leopold van der Pals and the historical importance of Julius Johannsen and Nikolaj van der Pals creates a new view of the music tradition from the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries. 

  • Composer and educator Prof. Julius Johanssen (Denmark) studied with F. Mendelssohn and N. W. Gade in Leipzig in the 1840´s. He became professor of counterpoint, headmaster of the composition-class and later the director of St. Petersburg Music Conservatorium during the second half of the 19th century. Among his students were N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Ljadow, A. Arensky, A. Siloti and many others. His last pupils were his grandchildren: Leopold and Nikolai van der Pals. The brothers also studied piano under Alexander Siloti, the same teacher as Rachmaninov. 
  • Leopold van der Pals became a composer. After his debut in 1909 with Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Symphony No. 1 in f sharp minor) his works were played in the top orchestras throughout the world. He composed a total of 252 works, which includes symphonies, operas, 700 lieder as well as piano- chamber music. He was in close contact with authors, musicians, artists and poets his whole life. Among them was Rudolf Steiner, A. Belyj, R. M. Rilke, Fr. Lienhard, S. Rachmaninov, S. Koussevitzky and A. Skryabin. 
  • Nikolaj van der Pals was a conductor and author who worked closely with Jean Sibelius and conducted his 80th and 90th celebration concerts. Nikolaj van der Pals promoted Finnish and Russian music throughout Europe with the elite orchestras and soloists during the first half of the 20th century. He also wrote books about Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. 

Since Tobias van der Pals rediscovered the work by his ancestors in the beginning of 2000, he has built up a modern tradition for the sleeping beauty of unknown music, through an international career in concerts, recordings, projects and lectures. Today, Leopold van der Pals music is again played in concerts and through recordings throughout the world.