Michal Riefeld

My name is michal Riefeld, I’m a cellist currently studying for my masters at the CvA with Prof. Pieter Wispelwey.

Through the years I played on many different cellos, but I never quite found the right one for me.

Coming to the Netherlands for my masters I didn’t have a good enough instrument to play on and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to fully express and present myself musically due to the limits of my cello.

I was looking for ways to find a better instrument and I was introduced to the NMF.

After a short application process I was given the opportunity to try the many wonderful cellos from the NMF’s collection. during this process while visiting the luthier who takes care of their instruments I had the wonderful fortune of finding the perfect cello for me. I immediately fell in love with it’s rich and warm sound and the colours it produced, it’s size was perfect for me as well as I was looking for a smaller instrument.

A few weeks later I came to look for bows that will suit this special cello, and the first bow I tried was the one I eventually chose. It felt light and comfortable, allowed me to play freely and most importantly - seemed to suite the cello perfectly!

I feel like these cello and bow inspire me daily during my practice and I am very thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to play on such instruments, It makes a profound difference in my development.

I can’t describe how meaningful it is for me to now have this cello and bow after such a long search, I feel it will allow me to grow and develop with it and I am deeply thankful to the NMF for providing young musicians like myself with access to such high level instruments.