Upcoming Concerts

An die Musik Live

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society

BIO

David Starobin (b. 1951, New York City), was called "arguably the most influential American classical guitarist of the 20th Century" by Soundboard magazine. Starobin is the only guitarist to have been awarded Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Career Grant (1988), was honored by Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University with its "Distinguished Alumni Award" (1999), and was inducted into the Guitar Foundation of America's "Hall of Fame" (2011). Starobin began playing the guitar at the age of seven, studying with Manuel Gayol and Aaron Shearer. He tours internationally as a recitalist, chamber player and orchestral soloist, and has directed guitar programs at Brooklyn College, Bennington College, the North Carolina School of the Arts, SUNY/Purchase, and the Manhattan School of Music, where he was holder of MSM's "Andres Segovia Chair". In 2010, Starobin took up the "Fondation Charidu Chair in Guitar Studies" at the Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia), where he currently teaches. In 1981 Starobin founded the recording company, Bridge Records. As performer, producer and executive producer, Starobin and Bridge have won three Grammy awards and received 25 Grammy nominations.

REVIEWS

"David Starobin is the virtuoso of the contemporary classical guitar. Over the past 20 years or so around 300 pieces have been written for him, and he's recorded quite a few of them. Whatever the style, Starobin's playing is a joy; agile, expressive, and always golden-toned."
-BBC Music Magazine

"[David Starobin is] arguably the most influential American classical guitarist of the 20th Century"
-Soundboard Magazine

"David Starobin is the guitar world's leading champion of new music." -American Record Guide

"If ever a guitarist deserved the title of 'virtuoso' David Starobin is one. This evening has to be among the most memorable I have ever had the pleasure of reviewing. David Starobin is among the truly individual and great players the instrument has."
-Classical Guitar (London)

"Starobin drew wonderfully rich and idiomatic sounds from the instrument, achieving bravura effects at breathtaking tempos. For originality and breadth, Starobin's program was a thing of beauty."
-The New York Times

"Starobin has grasped the authentic spirit, aided by his perfect instrumental technique. Here, the music acquires its truest meaning, exalting the quality of phrasing as it is rarely ever heard. Starobin's is a truly influential artistry, a great personality who does honor to both music and the guitar."
-Il Fronimo (Milan)

"David Starobin's interpretations are both sparkling and tender. Every note, every nuance, every gesture seems part of one clearly imagined vision. More than a virtuoso, Starobin is a champion for musical truth."
-All Things Considered (National Public Radio)

"Starobin evokes the virtuosity of Artur Schnabel's Beethoven."
-Gramophone

"Beyond Starobin's mastery of the guitar is his ability to create interpretations of remarkable subtlety - elaborating color and extreme flexibility of nuance as pure expression of his thoughts"
-Repertoire (Paris)

 

DISCOGRAPHY

David Starobin on Bridge Records, Inc.