Biography
Altough still in his twenties, cellist Stjepan Hauser has already performed in more than 40 countries across all the continents including debuts in Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, South Bank Centre and many more.
He is laureate of prestigious international competitions and awards and has collected during his short career no less than twenty-one first prizes in national and international competitions and has built an enviable reputation for himself, so much so that he has been bidden to play for H R H King Charles III both at Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace. He was lucky enough to be one of the very last cellists whom Rostropovich heard during his life.
This young cellist has worked with the revered classical artists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Bernard Greenhouse, Heinrich Schiff, Arto Noras, Frans Helmerson, Philippe Muller, Stephen Kovacevitch, Mennahem Pressler and Ivry Gitlis, to mention a few. He completed his undergraduate studies with Natalia Pavlutskaya in London and postgraduate studies with Ralph Kirshbaum at RNCM in Manchester and with Bernard Greenhouse in the USA. In October 2006, he was the only cellist chosen to perform in the gala concert at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence for the late Mstislav Rostropovich. During his studies in London he was a member of renowned The Greenwich Trio.
His meteoric success started when he decided to join forces with his friend and a former cello rival Luka Sulic. Their unique cello version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" took the world by storm. Within only a week, this YouTube video became a huge viral sensation leading to a record deal with Sony Masterworks and an invitation to join Elton John on his worldwide tour.
Since then, the duo has appeared on major TV shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003) (multiple times), Lopez Tonight (2009), TV Total with Stefan Raab and many others.
2Cellos were also the first instrumental act to ever perform on the hugely popular TV series Glee (2009), where they appeared as special guests in the Michael Jackson tribute episode, performing "Smooth Criminal". The 2Cellos' arrangement of the song, which featured Naya Rivera, debuted at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Digital Songs Chart and landed the 2Cellos debut album in the Top 100.
Luka and Stjepan's successes extend far beyond YouTube and their fan base continues to grow around the world. Apart from touring with Elton John, 2Cellos recently performed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Michael and Leona Lewis and released their second album IN2ITION in January 2013. The album was produced by the legendary Robert Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Deep Purple) and features an eclectic group of vocal and instrumental guests including Elton John, Steve Vai, Lang Lang, Naya Rivera and Zucherro.
