Turkish cellist EFE BALTACIGIL astounded audiences and critics alike in February 2005 when he and pianist Emmanuel Ax performed Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 1 as a last-minute substitution at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with only 10 minutes of rehearsal. Mr. Baltacigil, the Orchestra's Associate Principal Cellist, and Mr. Ax, the evening's soloist, were called upon to fill in when a winter storm prevented most of the Orchestra from reaching the concert hall. After that performance, The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "Baltacigil is a highly individualized solo artist. His gorgeous sound, strong personality, and expressive depth suggest an artist about to have a major career."

Just days before his Philadelphia triumph, Mr. Baltacigil won the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He was also awarded The Peter Jay Sharp Prize and the Washington Performing Arts Society Prize.

Young Concert Artists will present Mr. Baltacigil's recital debut at Carnegie's Zankel Hall in New York and co-present his debuts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston during the 2005-2006 season. Also next season, he will appear with Richard Goode at Carnegie's Zankel Hall and give performances at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, the North Dakota Museum of Art, Mayville State University (ND), and the Buffalo Chamber Music Society.

Mr. Baltacigil has appeared at Carnegie Hall performing the Brahms Sextet with Pinchas Zukerman and Yo-Yo Ma, and he has participated in Mr. Ma's Silk Road Project. He has also appeared as soloist for the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Curtis Chamber Orchestra conducted by Otto-Werner Mueller. After spending two summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, he was invited to tour with "Musicians from Marlboro" in 2005.

Mr. Baltacigil was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He started studying the violin at the age of five and changed to the cello at the age of seven. He received his Bachelor's degree from Mimar Sinan University Conservatory in Istanbul in 1998 and an Artist Diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 2002, where he studied with Peter Wiley and David Soyer. He was recipient of The Curtis Institute's Jacqueline DuPre Scholarship.