Mueller-Schott helps open series, and young minds

There’s nothing quite like a warm embrace — especially if you’re a classical music fan.

Cellist Daniel Mueller-Schott said that fans’ reactions to his beloved instrument’s sound and their comments after his concerts remind him how deeply the instrument’s warm voice touches people.

The simplest reminder, of course, is the way one holds the cello in order to play it. The dance of musician and instrument, and the journey into conveying a composer’s musical vision, all starts with a hug.

“Of the stringed instruments, I think the cello’s the most personal somehow,’’ Mueller-Schott said. “The way you play it, you hug it.’’

Mueller-Schott and pianist Robert Kulek will perform next week to open the 60th anniversary season of the Tuesday Evening Concert Series in Cabell Hall Auditorium.

Their program will include Brahms’ “Sonata in E minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 38,’’ Schubert’s “Arpeggione Sonata for Cello and Piano’’ and Shostakovich’s “Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40.’’

The German cellist calls the works “three masterpieces of the cello repertoire,’’ and he’ll be performing them on a treasure of a cello — the Saphir ex-Shapiro Matteo Gofriller cello, made in 1727. He said the works benefit from the cello’s rich sound, especially “a darker quality that the instrument provides.’’

Mueller-Schott said he looks forward to playing in Cabell Hall because Kulek, who performed in the series in March during last season’s concert by violinist Nikolaj Znaider, “was raving about the hall — and the audience.”

The Schubert work is “one of the most personal and most moving pieces in the cello repertoire,’’ Mueller-Schott said.

Choosing specific works to create a satisfying program requires a dedication to learning everything he can about the composers and the works. The more well informed Mueller-Schott is, the more effectively he can bring the work to life for the audience.

He relies on advice from famed cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who also fueled his interest in Shostakovich’s music, when he approaches compositions.

“You have to remember you are the ambassador of the composer, and you are reinventing it [the piece] as you are playing it,’’ Mueller-Schott said.

When it all comes together and the composer’s voice and vision come alive in front of an audience, it’s “the ultimate goal,’’ he said. “It’s the most rewarding thing. It’s the most ecstatic feeling.’’

Mueller-Schott also is looking forward to the children’s concert he will present Wednesday to local students. “The children are so open-minded and so curious,’’ Mueller-Schott said.

Mueller-Schott said he considers it important to “give something back of the wonderful education I had.’’ He enjoys supporting music education in schools, and back home in Germany, he has been able to stay in touch with students for whom he has performed.

“I’m really following what the children are doing,’’ he said.

He remembers the thrill that discovering music can hold for a young child. He was 5 when he heard famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma perform a Schubert concerto in his hometown of Munich.

“The sound was just totally overwhelming,’’ he said. (Years later, he said, he shared the story with Ma, who enjoyed hearing it.)

Don’t be surprised if you see the cellist run by while he’s here. Mueller-Schott enjoys jogging in cities he visits so he can get a better look at local architecture.

Tuesday’s concert is underwritten by Martha Jefferson House, and Bama Works Fund of the Dave Matthews Band in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation is underwriting the children’s concert.