David Pia, Cello

David Pia wants to take his listeners to a place “where time stands still or where at least the sense of time is different, into an inner world, where everyone is close to him- or herself, and where I prefer to be.“ Critics call his performance inspired, of a most profound concentration, extraordinarily sensitive and graceful, conscious of form, and with singing phrases, but also spontaneously rousing.

Born in Switzerland into a musically and culturally active family in 1982, Pia grew up in Basel and received his first cello lessons at the age of five. When he was 11, he met Antonio Meneses. Initially, he started taking private lessons from him, then successfully completed his official training with him at the Music Academy in Basel. Meneses greatly influenced him not only regarding his striving for perfect instrumental flawlessness, but above all to the effect that the musical expression, the purposefully connected, stylistically accurate interpretation always is his main focus, even in virtuoso music. The cellist then studied with Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum Salzburg, which broadened his point of view substantially.

In addition to the solo performances which are at the core of his work, David Pia is especially fond of chamber music. Encounters that had a lasting influence on his development were – besides with his former chamber music mentor, Gérard Wyss – with Claudio Abbado, Bobby McFerrin, and Kit Armstrong. From 2006 to 2008, the musician moreover was the solo cellist of the Munich Radio Orchestra. In 2007, he was a prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; in 2010 was his debut recital at the Lucerne Festival; and in 2015, he received the Swiss Ambassador’s Award and recorded his debut CD.

Pia unites tradition and vision, he builds a bridge from his admiration for his grandfather, Karl Richter, the legendary Bach conductor and organist from Munich, into a future with an infinite panorama. For him, the most important thing is the permanent expansion of the familiar repertory with interesting works and to never lose sight of the adventure of the unknown.

David Pia‘s motto both personally and as a musician has been inspired by Bobby McFerrin since they performed together: “Of course, flawless technique is essential. Yet it‘s not perfection that‘s at the forefront, but always the joy of life and of music.“