David Syme —— About David

Photo by djonesphoto.com

DAVID SYME, American pianist based in Houston, Texas and in Ireland, has emerged in recent years as a pre-eminent and definitive interpreter of the works of Gershwin for piano and orchestra.

His rendition of the Concerto In F is frequently labeled as the premier version of this piece, as described by James North in Fanfare Magazine:

“Oscar Levant, Earl Wild, Phillipe Entremont, Andre Previn and Helene Grimaud have made notable recordings of the Gershwin Concerto In F, but if I had to choose one today, it would be a live performance by David Syme with Herrera de la Fuente leading Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria.”

Listen to excerpts from this acclaimed recording.

DAVID SYME has appeared at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and in major venues in 17 European countries, Canada and Mexico. He has recorded 25 concertos on 19 CD’s with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonia, the Vienna Symphony and Czech National Symphony. Recent and forthcoming concerto engagements have featured the Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Schumann, Liszt E-Flat, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff 2nd and 3rd with orchestras throughout the U.S. and Europe (a performance of the Rachmaninoff 3rd was heralded by the Arizona Daily Star as “nothing shy of spectacular”).

David Syme with Van Cliburn and Ozan Marsh

He plays about 20 dates per year in his much-heralded in-home concert series in Ireland, where he is steadily attaining greater acclaim. In July of 2011, he will be featured on the RTE Television program “Nationwide”, in which presenter Mary Kennedy profiles his home concerts.

He is also well-known in the Czech Republic, and plays regularly as soloist with symphonies there.

A protégé of the legendary Jorge Bolet, he was schooled in the grand tradition of the great masters, and also studied with Ozan Marsh, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Ania Dorfmann, Louis Kentner and Constance Keene.

He has received career support from the La Gesse Foundation and Princess Cecilia de Medici, who present him in concerts in the U.S. and Europe.

The fall of 2011 will include a solo appearance with the Rockford, Illinois Symphony, Steve Larsen conducting, and recitals in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Riga, Prague, and other cities in Russia and the Czech Republic.

“It's not often that fans are given a chance to see their favourite musicians up close and personal. But every summer in Ahabeg, near Castletownbere in west Cork, world renowned pianist David Syme invites people into his own home for recitals that are performed for five consecutive Sunday afternoons right in his very own living room .”

Read the whole Evening Echo article about David.

“The Transcendental Étude in F by Liszt, called ‘transcendental’ because Liszt was the only one who could play it.” Audience applause indicates that Liszt was not the only one who could play it.”

Read the whole Steinway Magazine article about David.

“He perches on the piano bench like an ungainly swallow, but the sounds that emerge from the Steinway are more beautiful than any a nightingale could make. David Syme is a consummate pianist ---- bold and forceful, subtle and tender, summoning whatever the notes call for, but injecting his own affinity, interpretation and flexibility.”

Read the whole Prague Post article about David.