Joseph Spooner’s diverse career has taken him across the UK, from the Baltic to the Atlantic, from the teaching room to work as a coach, and from the recording studio to concert platforms in Continental Europe, Russia, New York, Mexico, and New Zealand. Notable chamber music collaborators have included David Owen Norris and Madeleine Mitchell. Joseph’s delving into the repertoire has led to the recovery of unjustly neglected works that have earned high praise from critics for both the performances and the initiative such projects entail. Recent years have seen Joseph’s discography expand further, and notable recordings include Percy Sherwood’s Double Concerto (with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Rupert Marshall-Luck), Francis Pott’s At First Light for choir and solo cello, and Ruth Gipps’s Cello Sonata (with Duncan Honeybourne). Joseph was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2012 and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2022. He is proud to be the dedicatee of works by Alwynne Pritchard, Errollyn Wallen, and Martin Read. His instrument was made in the workshop of Nicholas Vuillaume in c.1865.
- ‘Other cellists, please copy!’ (International Record Review)
- ‘all the expressive power needed’ (Gramophone)
- ‘superb … arresting in his commitment, his technical facility and in the rich tone he produces from his cello … could not be better’ (International Record Review)
- ‘wonderfully persuasive … full of remarkable passion and conviction’ (The Strad)
- ‘immensely impressive’ (Musical Opinion); ‘penetrates to the heart of the music’ (Musicweb)
- https://josephspooner.net
