Biography

Nemanja Stanković (b. 1989, Kragujevac) is a Serbian cellist known for his remarkable expressiveness and technical virtuosity. Equally accomplished as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator, he brings a distinctive artistic identity to a broad spectrum of musical activity – from the interpretation of classical and contemporary repertoire to the development of new musical narratives through interdisciplinary projects and world premieres.

He began his musical education in his hometown, completing both primary and secondary music school under Boža Saramandić. A prodigious talent, he gave notable performances and received competition awards early on. At the age of fifteen, he was admitted to the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, where he studied with Professor Sandra Belić and graduated in 2009 as Student of the Year. He completed his Master’s degree at the Conservatory of Vienna (Konservatorium Wien) under the mentorship of Natalia Gutman – one of the most prominent cellists of our time – and earned a Doctorate in Arts from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. Further studies took him to the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy, again with Natalia Gutman, and to the Mozarteum University in Salzburg with Enrico Bronzi. He has participated in masterclasses with Alfred Brendel, Jamie Walton, Mischa Maisky, Jens Peter Maintz, David Strange, Alexander Gebert, among others.

Stanković has performed in many of the world’s leading concert halls as both soloist and chamber musician. These include the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Flagey in Brussels, Emory Performing Arts Studio in Atlanta, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, Teatro Manoel in Valletta, Stadthalle Chemnitz, Teatro Gerolamo in Milan, Voronezh Philharmonic Hall, National Theatre in Dakar, Chiesa dei Gesuiti in Venice, Lysenko Hall in Kyiv, Shanghai Concert Hall, as well as all major venues in Serbia, including the Grand Hall of the Kolarac Endowment and the Sava Center.

He was principal cellist of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra from 2011 to 2019, and in the 2022/2023 season performed as guest principal cellist of the Milan Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared with numerous ensembles such as the Belgrade Philharmonic, RTS Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Serbica, St. George Strings, Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, Italian Youth Orchestra, Czech Virtuosi, Norbal Ensemble and others, under the baton of conductors including Marcus Bosch, Cristian Mandeal, Fabrice Bollon, Bojan Suđić, Rafael Payare and Noam Zur.

As a chamber musician, Stanković has collaborated with distinguished artists including Arthur and Lucas Jussen, Marino Formenti, Gabriel Feltz, Stanko Madić, Julija Hartig, Robert Lakatoš, Nemanja Radulović, Pablo Barragán, Atanas Krastev and others. He is a founding member of the Corda Piano Trio, alongside violinist Una Stanić and pianist Vladimir Milošević. The trio has received multiple awards, including the 2023 “Despot Stefan Lazarević” Award from the City of Belgrade for their performance at the Kolarac Endowment.

Stanković has been a guest at numerous festivals such as BEMUS, NIMUS, Mokranjčevi dani, Beethovenfest (Germany), Cellissimo (Bulgaria), Musica con Vista (Italy), Miguel Bernal Jiménez (Mexico), Alpen Classica (Italy), Platonov Arts Festival (Russia), Blisko (Novi Sad) and Belgrade Cello Fest.

Since 2018, he has taught chamber music at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, following a previous position as cello professor at the Faculty of Arts in Niš. He has given masterclasses across Serbia and internationally, including in the United States, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Mexico.

He has received multiple awards, including two Belgrade City Awards (2020 for the Tragovi album and 2023 for the Corda Trio concert), the “Aleksandar Pavlović” Award from the Association of Serbian Composers (2022), and distinctions from Muzika Klasika magazine (Young Artist of the Year – 2017, Concert of the Year – 2023). He won First Prize at the International Cello Competition in Liezen (Austria), the Audience Prize at the Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade and was a finalist at the Johannes Brahms International Competition in Pörtschach.

Nemanja Stanković performs on a cello made in 2012 by Carlos Roberts from Cremona.