With his first prize at the International Geneva Competition in December 2000, Rafael Rosenfeld established his reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting cellists. He toured as a soloist throughout Europe and performed with orchestras such as the SWR Stuttgart, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Lugano Radio Orchestra, the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to his success at the Geneva Competition, Rafael Rosenfeld has won numerous other prizes and awards at national and international competitions, including third prize at the International ARD Competition in Munich, a special prize at the International Jost Competition in Lausanne, and the highest award at the Migros Chamber Music Competition in 1997. In 1990, he represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Young Musicians Contest in Vienna and was a finalist at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1994. He has appeared in numerous radio and television broadcasts.

Rafael Rosenfeld received his musical education at the Zurich Conservatory and the Lübeck Academy of Music, where he studied cello with Walter Grimmer and David Geringas. Further inspiration came from world-renowned musicians such as András Schiff, Steven Isserlis, Sandor Végh, Bernard Greenhouse, Ralph Kirschbaum, Menahem Pressler, and György Kurtág.

He has been invited to major festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Ittingen Whitsun Concerts, Young Artists in Concert Davos, the Interlaken Festival Weeks, the Zurich Festival, and Open Chamber Music Prussia Cove. In 1995, Rafael Rosenfeld became principal cellist of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and its youngest member. He is also a member of András Schiff’s chamber orchestra, Cappella Andrea Barca.

Chamber music plays a central role in Rafael Rosenfeld’s musical life. For many years, he was the cellist of the Rosenfeld Trio and was later invited to form a trio with violinist Gabor Takács-Nagy, former first violinist of the Takács Quartet, and pianist Dénes Vârjon. Since 2002, he has devoted himself to the string quartet repertoire with the Merel Quartet.