David LIVELY
Franco-American pianist, David Lively is a laureate of major international competitions (Long-Thibaud, Queen Elisabeth, Geneva, Tchaikovsky where he wins the Special Prize for contemporary music as well as the Dino Ciani prize at the Scala in Milan)…
He performs as a soloist with numerous orchestras under the baton of eminent conductors such as Erich Leinsdorf, Michael Gielen, Kurt Sanderling, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Colin Davis, Rafael Kubelik, Pascal Rophé, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, Dennis Russell Davies…
David Lively, whose repertoire of soloists and chamber musicians is extremely broad, has recorded monumental and rarely performed works such as the Piano Concerto, orchestra and men’s choir by Busoni under the direction of Michael Gielen or even the concertos by Joseph Marx under the direction of Steven Sloane.
He is also an ardent advocate of contemporary music. His close ties with a number of composers have led him to record the complete piano works of Philippe Boesmans, and to give the European premiere of Takemitsu’s Riverrun, Saariaho’s trio Cendres, concertos by William Blank and Cris, and more recently Reflecting Black, commissioned by the Orchestre de la Suisse romande and recorded under the direction of Pascal Rophé. He is the dedicatee of this work, inspired by the work of Soulages.
Fascinated by French music from the turn of the 19th century, he is a member of the Académie de Musique Française de l’Ecole Normale. He has recorded Fauré’s Nocturnes, and chamber music Sonatas by Fauré, Debussy and Ravel with violinist Tatiana Samouil, and Ravel’s complete music for violin and piano with violinist Elsa Grether.
A former student of Jules Gentil at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, David Lively was also Director of Competitions at the school for 15 years, and teaches in the “Vocations” program.
He is regularly invited to take part in juries for major international competitions.
His rich discography, acclaimed by the French and international press, reflects the diversity of his repertoire and his attachment to the musical heritages of his two countries, France and the United States of America.
A committed artist, he is a founding member of the Association des Artistes pour la Paix.
