Lidy Blijdorp is a young, passionate cellist with enormous narrative power, praised for her ‘breathtaking musicality’ (Amsterdamse Cellobiennale). She graduated from Paris conservatory with the highest distinction (1ère Prix avec Félicitations, 2011). Lidy recently played her Artist Diploma Recital at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where she studied with Gary Hoffman.
Blijdorp studied with Monique Bartels (Royal Conservatory, The Hague), Michel Strauss (Conservatoire National Supérieure de Paris) and Gary Hoffman (Queen Elisabeth Chapel). She received lessons from Anner Bylsma, Dmitri Ferschtman and Richard Aaron.
Lidy Blijdorp, celliste
Lidy won prizes at several competitions: the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, the Grachtenfestival Competition, the Princess Christina Competition and, with her string quartet, the Charles Hennen International Competition. In the summer of 2014 she won the Prix Académie Maurice Ravel (France).
Blijdorp plays at festivals such as the Janine Jansen Festival Utrecht, the Grachtenfestival Amsterdam and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. She also gave recitals in Belgium (Brussels Bozar, Flagey), France (Theatre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris; Auditorium Maurice Ravel, St. Jean de Luz; La Lucarne, Arradon) and Japan (Kinan Hall,
Wakayama; Bamboo Hall, Tokyo). In September 2015 she gave a Beethoven-recital with Maria João Pires in Madrid (Auditorio Nacional).
As a soloist she has played with various orchestras. In 2013 she was invited to play the Dvorák cello concerto and the premiere of the Russian composer Sergej Yevtushenko, with the State Hermitage Orchestra (Hermitage Theatre, St. Petersburg). She also played with the Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie (Bozar, Brussels, 2014), the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra (Flagey, Brussels; Salle Philharmonique, Liège, 2014), Camerata Amsterdam (2016) and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble (2016, Vredenburg).
In april 2017 she made a tour with the NESKO. In 2018 she gave solo performances with the Orchestra of the 18th Century and with the “Orkest van het Oosten”. In June 2019 she played the Rococo Variations with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra.
Two cello pieces have been dedicated to Lidy Blijdorp: ‘Lidy’s Piece’ by Australian composer Kate Moore and ‘Cello Song – ‘What if’ by Dutch composer Ig Henneman.
Lidy plays the Italian cello of Anner Bylsma, on loan from the Dutch National Musical Instrument Fund.