Dr. Andrew Burgdorf, M.D.
Andrew is a charter member of the Buffalo Community Orchestra since 1995. Mary Ellen Lundsten coaxed him to come to the initial planning meeting early 1995 to possibly start a community orchestra ignoring Dr. Burgdorf’s protests of not having enough time due to his young family and full time medical practice.

Since then, he has enjoyed playing in nearly all of the 140 plus concerts BCO has performed including soloing on cello concertos by Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Vivaldi, Haydn, and the first two movements of the Brahms Double Violin and Cello Concerto with Marion Judish and Erika Blanco. He will now be joined by BCO’s current conductor and violinist, Aria Carrillo, in performing the exhilarating final movement of the Brahms Double Concerto, “Vivace non troppo.”

Andy considers the Brahms Double to be the greatest composition of classical repertoire combining both musical genius and intentionality to reconcile a bitter animosity between the composer and the Hungarian violinist of the day, Joseph Joachim. Joachim had become jealous of his wife, Amalie Weiss, and decided to divorce her in a nineteenth century courtroom with overwhelming odds in his favor until she surprised the judge revealing a private letter that Brahms had written supporting her innocence to which the judge acquitted her. This enraged Joachim halting all communication with Johannes for the next few years until a fellow string quartet cellist intervened convincing Brahms to send Joachim a casual postcard asking if he would be willing to take a look at a new composition that Brahms had been writing on his walks in the countryside of the Swiss Alps pairing violin and cello in a double concerto which was something that had never been tried before. Joachim was intrigued by the musical challenge and restored their close friendship thereby giving the world a gorgeous treasure of intensity and beauty. The Brahms Double final movement culminates with the cello and violin cascading in rapid paralleled harmony that blurs distinguishing the two apart. Reconciliation is not only possible in music, but can create an even stronger collaboration in the end if done with intentionality… and… yes, plenty of individual and joint practicing!

Andrew has studied cello under Eric Wahlin, Tanya Remenikova, Tony Ross, Jacqueline Ultan, and Eric Wheeler. He has played with the Jerusalem Hebrew University Orchestra, and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. He plays a Finocchi 1790 Italian cello and a 2022 cello, which took luthier, John Waddle, four years of creative experimentation to create a brand new instrument pattern instead of copying any previous cello design, by using a single measurement from the older instrument, a compass, and a ruler. Either instrument is worthy of the Brahms Double and is yet to be decided which will have the joy of being played for the upcoming performance. Andrew alternates playing a W. Watson bow that was owned by Minnesota Orchestra’s previous principal cellist, Bob Jamieson, an Albert Nurnberger bow, and a modern Matthew Wheeler bow.

Dr. Burgdorf thanks his wife Sherilyn and family, violinist & conductor Aria, and BCO for the chance to perform the most incredibly beautiful and moving masterwork for a very special concert.