The cellist, who was a member of Kremerata Baltica since 1997, was 50
Latvian cellist Marta Sudraba died in Vienna on 13 July 2025, aged 50.
Sudraba was born on 27 March 1975 in Riga, Latvia. She was a graduate of the Emīls Dārziņš Riga Music Secondary School and the Latvian Academy of Music, where she studied with Ilze Rugevica and Eleonora Testeļeca. She furthered her cello studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London from 1997 to 1998, received a master’s degree from the Basel Academy of Music in 2000 with Thomas Demenga, and studied with Heinrich Schiff at the Vienna Music Academy.
She joined Gidon Kremer’s Kremerata Baltica in 1997, where she led the cello section and participated in the group’s tours and recordings. The following year, she became a member of Kremer’s trio.
Sudraba had also performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra de La Scala of Milan and The Russian National Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she collaborated with Kremer, as well as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Thomas Quasthoff, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Ilya Gringolts, Per Arne Glorvigen, Joshua Bell and Vadim Sakharov, at festivals including Aspen, Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, and Lockenhaus.
Sudraba released an album with pianist Ventis Zilberts in 2006 called Ex Animo, comprising works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, Vasks and Debussy.
Kremer released a tribute to his late colleague on social media, where he recalled meeting Sudraba at the auditions for Kremerata Baltica in 1996/97:
’I remember so vividly- you entered the room and your smile already lightened up the whole space…You were and remained a real sunshine for many years to come.
’We shared your positive approach in all those following years playing tons of music - recording and performing around the globe - meeting partners and new scores. Your positive energy projected on us the feeling to be “alive” and allowed us for many years to discover real values.
’We were united despite all differences in thoughts, discussions. We simply had a lot of fun together and appreciated to speak “music”.’
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