Featured Artists
The Orkis-Hardy Duo
David Hardy and Lambert Orkis first began performing chamber music together in 1983. In the past they were both members of Washington's 20th Century Consort-a group specializing in contemporary music, the Romantic Chamber Ensemble, and the Empyrean Trio with then NSO Concertmaster William Steck. As Principal Chair players of the National Symphony Orchestra, they were two of the original five founding members and, since 2003 have performed with the highly acclaimed Kennedy Center Chamber Players for sold out houses in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater.
They have performed together much of the chamber music repertoire which includes those instruments from the music of the classical and romantic periods through to the modern era. In May 2008, they premiered at the Kennedy Center a new work for cello and piano written for them by award-winning composer Stephen Jaffe.
Under the Kennedy Center Chamber Players' banner, two recordings on the Dorian/Sono Luminus label are available. "The Beauty of Two" includes performances of Grieg's Sonata in a minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 36 and Martinů's Sonata No. 3 for Cello and Piano performed by this duo. With NSO Principal Clarinetist Loren Kitt, they present the Brahms Trio for clarinet, cello, and piano on "An Emotional Journey - Clarinet Works of Johannes Brahms." A recording of Brahms' Piano Quartet in g minor, Op. 25 is also available.
Mr. Orkis and Mr. Hardy first presented the cycle of Beethoven works for piano and cello at Temple University in 1988. Their most recent performances of these works have highlighted many years of working together on this repertoire. In re-visiting these masterpieces, they have also considered their enhanced knowledge gained from playing on period instruments and from studying classical performance practice. They have recorded these works for Dorian/Sono Luminus Recordings--on modern and period instruments for future release.
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Lambert Orkis
Lambert Orkis has received international recognition as chamber musician, interpreter of contemporary music, and performer on period instruments. He has appeared in recital worldwide with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter since 1988 and performed with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich for more than eleven years.
Special concerts during the 2008-2009 season with Ms. Mutter included a benefit in Bonn for the purchase of the autographed manuscript of the Diabelli Variations by the Beethoven Birth House, and by invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, a recital for participating Heads of State including President Barack Obama which was held in Baden-Baden, Germany during the 60th anniversary celebration of NATO.
His distinguished career includes collaborative appearances with cellists Lynn Harrell, Anner Bylsma, and Han-Na Chang, violinist Julian Rachlin, and violist Steven Dann, and he has performed with the Vertavo, Emerson, American, Mendelssohn, Curtis, and Manchester String Quartets. As soloist he has made appearances with conductors including Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Günther Herbig, Kenneth Slowik, John Mauceri, Robert Kapilow, Leon Fleisher, and others.
A multi-Grammy Award nominee, his wide discography comprises works of the classical, romantic, and modern eras on many labels. With Anne-Sophie Mutter, he has frequently recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, winning a Grammy Award for "Best Chamber Music Performance" for the Beethoven piano and violin sonatas, and a 2006 "Choc de l'année" award from the French magazine Le Monde de la Musique for the Mozart violin sonatas audio recording. He has also recorded works of Brahms, Schumann, and Chopin/Franchomme with Dutch cellist Anner Bylsma, and has released discs on Bridge Records of solo works written for him by George Crumb, Richard Wernick, and James Primosch.
He premiered in Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Wernick's Piano Concerto which was written for him, the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington and, as conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich. For the recording, Mr. Orkis is paired with Symphony II of Chicago. The European premiere took place with Mr. Orkis and Het Residentie Orkest of The Hague, The Netherlands. In both instances, the composer conducted.
His most recent solo releases on the Bridge Records label include, as fortepianist and pianist, three separate performances of Beethoven's "Appassionata" sonata using instruments based upon Viennese piano building designs which represent three snapshots in time of Viennese keyboard evolution. Another disc features piano music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk performed on an 1865 Chickering concert grand piano from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Solo discs as fortepianist of Schubert works for Virgin Classics have been recorded. As founding member and fortepianist of the Smithsonian Institution's Castle Trio, he has given many performances including several cycles of Beethoven's twenty-eight major works for fortepiano and strings, and produced highly regarded recordings of Beethoven and Schubert trios.
Lambert Orkis has held the position of Principal Keyboard of Washington's National Symphony Orchestra since 1982. He is Professor of Piano at Temple University's Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance in Philadelphia, having received the university's Faculty Award for Creative Achievement and the Alumni Association's Certificate of Honor.
In acknowledgment of his accomplishments, he was recently honored with Germany's Cross of the Order of Merit.
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David Hardy
David Hardy, Principal Cello of the National Symphony Orchestra, achieved international recognition in 1982 as the top American prize winner at the Seventh International Tchaikovsky Cello Competition in Moscow. Mr. Hardy won a special prize for the best performance of the Suite for Solo Cello by Victoria Yagling, commissioned for the competition. In praise of Mr. Hardy's performance of the Dvořák cello concerto, Tass called it "beautifully spontaneous and unpretentious. His performance gave the feeling of improvisation through the varied use of his colorful and powerful sound."
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, David Hardy began his cello studies there at the age of eight. He was 16 when he made his debut as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. When he was 21 years old, Mr. Hardy won the certificate in the prestigious Geneva International Cello Competition. The next year, he was graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Laurence Lesser, Stephen Kates and Berl Senofsky. In 1981, he was appointed to the National Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Cello by its then Music Director, Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1994, Mr. Hardy was named Principal Cello of the NSO by Music Director Leonard Slatkin.
Mr. Hardy made his solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1986 with Mstislav Rostropovich conducting. A regular soloist with the NSO, Mr. Hardy, in 2004, gave the world premiere performance with Leonard Slatkin conducting the Stephen Jaffe Concerto for Cello and Orchestra which was commissioned by the Hechinger Foundation. Mr. Hardy gave the European premiere of the Jaffe concerto in Slovenia in 2007. Bridge Records has released the premiere recording of the concerto with Mr. Hardy and the Odense Symphony of Denmark.
The National Symphony Orchestra's recording of John Corigliano's Symphony No. 1 featuring Mr. Hardy's solo cello performance won the 1996 Grammy Award for "Best Classical Album."
Mr. Hardy is a founding member of the Opus 3 Trio, with violinist Charles Wetherbee and pianist Lisa Emenheiser. The Opus 3 Trio has performed to critical acclaim across the country and has commissioned, premiered and recorded many new works. Additionally, Mr. Hardy was cellist of the 20th Century Consort in Washington, D.C. where he premiered works by Stephen Albert, Nicholas Maw, and Joseph Schwantner.
Mr. Hardy's playing can be heard on recordings under the Bridge, Melodyia, Educo, RCA, London, Centaur and Delos labels. The Washington Post has praised his "resplendent playing and virtuoso technique" and "deep musical sensitivity."
In addition to his performing schedule Mr. Hardy is Professor of Cello at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
Mr. Hardy's instruments were made by Carlo Giuseppe Testore in 1694 and Raymond Hardy in 2000.
