Described by András Schiff as ‘one of the best cellists of his generation’, Ivan Karizna stems from two schools of playing – traditional Russian, and European, at the Paris Conservatoire where he studied with Jérôme Pernoo, and later in Germany with Frans Helmerson. He was awarded top prizes at competitions including the Tchaikovsky (Moscow), Queen Elisabeth (Brussels), and Guillermina Suggia (Portugal). In recent years he has performed with orchestras including the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Radio, Frankfurt Radio, Leipzig Radio, Brussels Philharmonic, European Chamber, Montreal Symphony, and Ukraine National Symphony orchestras, under conductors such as Eschenbach, Denève and Valčuha. In 2023 he made his debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Philharmonic under Poschner, replacing Truls Mørk in the Dvořák concerto. An avid chamber musician, he frequently collaborates with top musicians playing the 1760 Tassini cello, ex-Tortelier, loaned by a member of the Stretton Society.