David Fray
Photo Credit: Paolo Roversi
Described as, “Perhaps the most inspired, certainly the most original Bach player of his generation,” David Fray maintains an active career as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician worldwide. He has collaborated with leading orchestras and distinguished conductors such as Marin Alsop, Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Jaap van Zweden. Orchestral highlights in Europe have included performances with the Royal Concertgebouw, Bayerische Rundfunk, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, London Philharmonic, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester, Salzburg Mozarteum, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France and Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris.
Fray made his U.S. debut in 2009 with the Cleveland Orchestra which was followed by performances with the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Recital debuts followed in Carnegie Hall, at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and the Chicago Symphony Hall.
This past summer, Fray returned to perform with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen at the BBC Proms. In the current season, he gives two Schubert recitals at the Park Avenue Armory and appears again with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Mo. van Zweden both in Dallas and on a European tour. Other engagements in 2015-16 include performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, DSO Berlin, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, RTÉ National Symphony and Orchestre National de France under Riccardo Muti as well as recitals at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Chicago Symphony Hall.
Fray’s latest release called “Fantaisie,” an album of Schubert’s late piano works, was recently included in Gramophone Editor’s Choice and has been called “exceptionally thoughtful and touching” and “one of the most appealing listening experiences of present times.” He records exclusively for Warner Classics and his very first CD with works of Bach and Boulez met with great critical acclaim. The disc was praised as the “best record of the year” by the London Times and Le Soir. Fray’s second release was a recording of Bach keyboard concertos with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen awarded by the German Recording Academy followed by Schubert’s Moments Musicaux and Impromptus. Fray’s recent releases include a Schubert recital, Mozart piano concertoes with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden and Bach Partitas Nos. 2 and 6 along with Toccata in C Minor. In 2008 the TV network ARTE +7 presented a documentary on David Fray directed by the renowned French director Bruno Monsaingeon. The film “David Fray records Johann Sebastian Bach” was subsequently released on DVD.
Fray holds multiple awards including the prestigious German Echo Klassik Prize for Instrumentalist of the Year and the Young Talent Award from the Ruhr Piano Festival. In 2008 he was named Newcomer of the Year by the BBC Music Magazine. At the 2004 Montreal International Music Competition, he received both the Second Grand Prize and the Prize for the best interpretation of a Canadian work.
Fray started taking piano lessons at the age of 4. He furthered his studies with Jacques Rouvier, who is also featured on his latest Schubert album, at the National Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris.
LEARN MORE:
