Lidy Blijdorp

Cellist Lidy Blijdorp has forged a career marked by a diverse repertoire spanning both classical masterpieces and contemporary compositions. She studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and with Michel Strauss in Paris before completing an Artist Diploma. In 2026, Onyx Classics released Poulenc, on which she performed the Cello Sonata alongside pianist Pascal Rogé. At age 12, Blijdorp entered Monique Bartels' class at the Royal Conservatory, later continuing her studies with Strauss at the Conservatoire National Supérieur. An exchange program took her to the University of Michigan for four months, where she studied with Richard Aaron, and in 2011 she completed her master's degree in Paris with the conservatory's highest distinction. That January, she was also invited to join the Sylff Chamber Music Project at the Juilliard School in New York. Further studies with Anner Bylsma and Dmitri Ferschtman followed, before she completed an Artist Diploma at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel under Gary Hoffman. During these years, she received prizes at competitions including the Princess Christina Competition, the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, and, with her string quartet, the Charles Hennen International Competition. Her solo career developed steadily during the 2010s, with engagements including performances with the State Hermitage Orchestra in St. Petersburg in 2013, the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014, and the Orchestra of the 18th Century in 2017. In 2015, she performed a Beethoven recital with pianist Maria João Pires at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional. She also began working with contemporary composers, including Kate Moore, who wrote Lidy's Piece for her in 2016, and Ig Henneman, whose Cello Song followed in 2018. Her debut recording appeared in 2020, pairing works by Kodály and Ravel with Bach's Sixth Cello Suite. The album received two Edison Awards, including Best Debut. New commissions continued, and in September 2022 she premiered Trailblazer, a cello concerto written for her by Dutch composer Joel Bons, with the Residentie Orkest at the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague. Blijdorp performs on an Italian cello that once belonged to Anner Bylsma, on loan from the Dutch National Musical Instrument Fund. In February 2026, Channel Classics released her recording of cello sonatas by Franck, Boulanger, Debussy, and Matthijs Vermeulen, made with pianist Tobias Borsboom. ~ Prince Iwundu