You may know Laura van der Heijden from the Walton Cello Concerto that won her BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2012, aged only 15 – a performance of preternatural poise, intelligence and intensity. Since then, she’s kept a low profile, eschewing the exposure of other Young Musician winners, some of whom are now first-name brands. She has trodden her own path resolutely, studying Music at Cambridge University rather than going to conservatoire, pursuing chamber music and recitals more than the international concerto career she undoubtedly merits, and recently having gone back to study – with a violin professor.
Only now, 12 years on from her BBC win, has she finally put the Walton on record (for Chandos), with Ryan Wigglesworth and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, alongside Bridge’s and a concerto written for her by Cheryl Frances-Hoad,
