Valter Dešpalj

Valter Dešpalj (born 1947), cellist and a professor at the Zagreb Academy of Music. Original, vintage, pen and ink, "on-the-spot" illustration by George 'Georges' Krishizki. The hand drawn illustration has been signed by Dešpalj and additionally signed, dated and titled by Krishizki: "Georges / 1981 / Valter Dešpalj playing concerto in D major Opus. 101 for Violoncello and Orchestra by Haydn / Carnegie Hall / November 2, 1981."

Dešpalj has performed all over the world, including performances at festivals in Gstaad, Lockenhaus, Kuhmo and Dubrovnik also in some of the most prestigious concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Festival Hall in London, Sydney Opera House, Amsterdam′s Concertgebouw, Moscow Conservatory Hall etc. He was soloist with orchestras including Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin,Dresden Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Dutch Radio Orchestra, Washington National Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony and others, under baton of eminent conductors such as Roberto Benzi, Sergiu Comissiona, James Conlon, Vernon Handley, Günther Herbig, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Andrzej Markowski, David Zinman and others. Among his chamber music partners were Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, Heinrich Schiff, Philippe Entremont, Yuri Bashmet, Tabea Zimmermann, Irena Grafenauer, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Alexandre Rabinovitch.

George 'Georges' Krishizki (March 22, 1924 – December 20, 2001), Russian-Polish-American illustrator who came to the U.S. in 1949. While he earned acclaim for his renderings of the city’s architectural landmarks, it was his on-the-spot drawings of musicians in performance that attracted an especially appreciative audience. In a 1973 article published in conjunction with two simultaneous exhibitions, Georges explained the genesis of his long-running engagement with the concert hall: “I’ve always enjoyed going to concerts, and one day I decided it would be fun to combine my interests in music and art and make sketches of musicians during performances.”  Indeed, the most remarkable feature of Georges’ oeuvre, apart from the astounding range of performers who gladly expressed their approval and appreciation by signing, is the skill with which the drawings are accomplished.

This original pen and ink illustration, measuring approximately 9 x 12, on heavy-weight sketch paper, is in fine condition with some light overall toning. Its verso is blank and clean.