David Soyer (February 24, 1923 – February 25, 2010) was an American cellist.He was born in Philadelphia and began playing the piano at the age of nine. At 11, he started the cello. One of his first teachers was Diran Alexanian. Later on he studied with Emanuel Feuermann and Pablo Casals. He debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy in 1942, playing Ernest Bloch's Schelomo.Chamber music was a special love of his. He was a founding member of the Guarneri Quartet in 1964 and played with them until retiring from the quartet in 2002. As a member of the Guarneri he collaborated with many of the world's most famous classical musicians, including Leonard Rose, the Budapest String Quartet, Pinchas Zukerman, and Arthur Rubinstein. He gave the New York premieres of the Solo Cello Sonatas by Zoltán Kodály and George Crumb. With David Tudor he premiered Earle Brown's Music for Cello and Piano. Before joining the quartet he played in various venues including the Navy Band (**) during World War II and later with the NBC Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini.Soyer was on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard School. Many of his students, such as Ronald Thomas, have gone on to have successful performing careers.He taught many of today's most prominent contemporary cellists and musicians. He spent many summers teaching and performing at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.David Soyer received an honorary degree from Binghamton University.
On teaching: My students cried a lot, but they didn't learn. They just cried. So I lightened up, and we were all happier
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On the base and bass of a cello: In the role of base the cellist has to assure the foundation of the ensemble. There must be a sufficient sense of presence and substance of sound to provide a point of stability. In the role of bass the cellist must give life to the harmonic structure.
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On touring: I don't want to have a heart attack at a Holiday Inn after having had dinner at Howard Johnson's.
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Fact
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His first music teacher was Emmet Sargeant, a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He studied with Joseph Emonts, a member of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in New York City. He also studied under Diran Alexanian and Feuermann and Casals.
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He made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1942 under Eugene Ormandy performing "Schelomo" by Bloch.
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He was invited by Rudolph Serkin in 1961 to Marlboro Music Gathering in Marlboro, Vermont where he performed with violinists, Michael Tree, John Dalley and Arnold Steinhardt where they formed the Guarneri Quartet. He would return for 30 years every summer.
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He was on the faculty at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Juilliard School at Lincoln Center; and Manhattan School of Music both in New York City.
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Father of Daniel Soyer of Needham, Massachusetts and Jeffrey Soyer of Fairlee, Vermont.
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He is survived by his sister, Dolores Soyer of New York City, and two grand-daughters.
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His wife, Janet Soyer, was a former harpist.
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He began playing the cello at 11 years old.
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He was a member of the Marlboro Music and a founding member of the Guarneri Quartet in Marlboro from 1964. He spent his first summer in 1961 with the Marlboro Music scene.
$20 Million