He is a double bass and viola da gamba player born in Rockville Centre, New York who moved to Darnstadt, Germany with his family when he was young. He studied at the Frankfurt American High School and began to learn to play the double bass in 1963 and decided to have a career in classical music by 1966. He took further studies at the Akademie fur Tonkunst in Darmstadt followed by the Musikhochschule in Freiburg, missing 6 months due to ill health. In 1969 he went on to the Hochskule fur Musik und Theater in Hanover and started to study the viola da gamba and early music performance.
In 1972 , after attending a seminar at The Hague Conservatory, he gave his first concert with Alice Harnoncourt’s Concentus Musicus Wien. This led to his baroque music studies at Salzburg’s Mozarteum in Austria, settling there in 1973. In 1976 he earned his Double Bass Orchestral diploma and his Solo diploma in 1978.
During his years at the Mozarteum he was invited to play in the new ensemble Musica Antiqua Koln by Reinhard Goebel in 1974. He joined as a permanent member until 1981 and later performed with the ensemble as a guest musician until 2002. Also during the years 1981 to 2002 he performed as a member of Collegium Vocale Gent.
In 1985 he became Principal Double Bass of Les Arts Florissants where he also performed on the viola da gamba and violone.
As a conductor he has conducted several concerts in various countries in Europe of early Italian motets, Bach cantatas, madrigals and orchestral works.
Recordings he has performed on include Handel – Belshazzar with Concentus Musicus Wien, Virtuose of Deutsche Violinmusik Des 17, Jahrhunderts, Concerti Per Flauto, Georg Philipp Telemann – Concertos De Chambre, Vivaldi: Concerti Da Camera Claudio Monteverdi: Combattimento Di Tancredi E Clorinda Lamento D’Arianna Lamento D’Olimpia by Musica Antiqua Koln and Montiverdi – Selva Morale E Spirituale, Purcell: Dido & Aeneas and M. De Lully: Atys and Henry Purcell: The Fairy Queen with Les Arts Florissants, Schutz: The Seven Words of Jesus Christ On The Cross with Ensemble Clement Janequin, Gilles: Requiem with La Chapelle Royale, Mozart: Concerto Per Cembalo with Le Concert Francais, JS Bach – Missae BWV 233 & 236 and Henry Purcell: Funeral Sentences with the Collegium Vocale along with many others.
On screen he has appeared as a musician in three TV movies and a video as well as appearing as himself in three TV movies and a documentary. He has also worked in the music department as a performer in 3 video and 4 TV movies.
In the field of musical education he has given master classes at SUNY Stony Brook and Juilliard School and given workshops and lectures in many international countries. In 2017 he was a faculty member of the Oregon Bach Festival’s Berwick Academy.
He has published new editions of baroque music which include three Monteverdi operas which have been performed with Les Arts Florissants.
While retaining his American citizenship he acquired French nationality in 1995 and shares his times between New York City, Lyon in France and Berlin in Germany.
He performs here….
Sources:
- https://jonathancable.net/biography/
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0127644/
- http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV80-Rec6.htm
- https://www.arts-florissants.org/
- https://rocketreach.co/les-arts-florissants-profile_b45337e4fc8255bf
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/835647-Jonathan-Cable
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jonathan-cable-mn0002188044