With a strong Russian streak in his playing, cellist Pablo Ferrández has performed with top orchestras around his native Spain and beyond. His teacher, Natalia Shakhovskaya, who had been a student of Rostropovich, left a strong imprint on Ferrández's style. Important prizes, including a win at the Leizen International Cello Competition in 2008 and the Nicolas Firmenich Prize at the Verbier Festival in 2011, helped launch Ferrández's career. He has appeared with such groups as the Helsinki Philharmonic, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, and the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Among his chamber music partners are violinists Gidon Kremer and Vilde Frang. He plays a 1696 Stradivarius cello known as the "Lord Aylesford," on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. Ferrández's recordings include one of the Dvorák and Schumann cello concertos, the Kremerata Baltica album Focus Cello, and after signing with Sony Classical, Ferrández issued the recital Reflections in 2021.