By Nestor CASTIGLIONE

It’s already a humbling and moving experience to watch life unfold and grow before oneself, but to have a hand in its nurturing is something else altogether.

On Wednesday, cellist Ruslan Biryukov will be joined by fellow cellist Nathan Le at the Luxe Hotel in Bel Air in a concert in which they will debut their new CD collaboration, an album called “Cello Pinnacle.” However, the concert will commemorate more than a new recording.

“I’ve witnessed his growth as a musician and individual,” Biryukov mused in a phone interview. “But now I’ll be watching him appear not as a student, but as an artistic partner with an equal voice on the stage. I’m very excited.”

Biryukov knows a great deal about Le’s growth: For the past four years he has been the latter’s cello teacher.

“In many respects, Nathan has already been flying on his own,” Biryukov said. “He has this genius mind.”

They first met when Le approached Biryukov in the hopes of being coached for his entry into the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Following that, Biryukov took the younger musician under his wing, training him in the Russian style of cello playing in which he is a noted exponent.

Now as the 17-year-old is college-bound – pursuing two majors each at Harvard University and New England Conservatory of Music – Biryukov wanted to commemorate his student’s emergence into the real world with a recording and recital that would survey the development of cello playing technique. Thus was born the “Cello Pinnacle” album and the accompanying recital at a L’Ermitage Foundation concert.

“It might be surprising for some people to learn that, in terms of technique, of the bow arm, the 20th and 21st centuries haven’t brought many innovations to the cello,” explained Biryukov. “Everything now is really a refinement of things that came before. It was the great old guys of the 19th century, like August Franchomme, Karl Davydov, and David Popper, that substantially developed the cello’s technical grammar.”

It was with that in mind that the music represented on the CD, as well as the recital, homes in on the music of the 19th century.

For Biryukov, the Luxe Hotel was the perfect venue to debut both the CD as well as Nathan Le’s emergence as a mature artist in his own right. The venue, which Biryukov described as a “hidden jewel of Los Angeles,” has witnessed recitals by many major classical musicians, including Anne Akiko Meyers and Victor Borge.

“It’s a great place for listeners to hear what they will listen to on that night,” he said. “In a single evening they will hear the full range of the cello’s development. On top of that, they’ll hear [Le’s] intellectual force and playing. And he’s a young man whom I believe will display his future achievements for all of us to see.”

Ruslan Biryukov and Nathan Le will be debuting their album “Cello Pinnacle” next week at the ballroom of the Luxe Hotel on 11461 Sunset Blvd. in Bel Air. The concert, part of L’Ermitage Foundation’s 2017 summer concert series, will also have the artists selling their new CD. General admission tickets are $50 and advanced reservations are required. To obtain tickets or make reservations, please contact L’Ermitage at (310) 472-3330 or by at email reneelcherniak@aol.com. More information may be obtained online at www.lermitagefoundation.org. For more information on Ruslan Biryukov, visit www.celloart.com; for more on Nathan Le, visit www.nathanlecello.com.

  Nestor CASTIGLIONE