The Kansas In Him

David Soyer, former cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet, passed away yesterday.  He was 87.  In 2001 he left the Guarneris after 37 years, and, as the group's only personnel change, was replaced by his protege Peter Wiley.  It is hard to describe the impact that Mr. Soyer had on the music world as it is today; not only do cellists mourn, but all lovers of classical music share in the void left by his passing. As a teacher, he left an indelible impression on 45 years' worth of cellists at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and virtually all of the successful string quartets in existence today through his long association with the Marlboro Music Festival of Marlboro, VT.  Follow the link to hear a 2009 performance at Marlboro of Schubert's Piano Trio No. 2, given by pianist Mitsuko Uchida, violinist Soovin Kim and Soyer.   He was one of the last remaining direct links to the great cellists Emmanuel Feuermann and Pablo Casals.

His mark was different than that left by the late Rostropovich, and perhaps it was more important, more organic.  Rostropovich inspired young cellists to stick out their chest, hold their head high, and play with the confidence that only he could muster.  Mr. Soyer's influence came on a deeper level.  There comes a point in every musician's life when they discover chamber music.  It's less of a discovery than a revelation that the apex of our craft is the ability to communicate with other musicians, and the formation of a singular musical idea, when executed, is transcendent.  This is what Mr. Soyer taught, showed, and lived.  As young cellists makes this discovery, they eventually come upon Beethoven's sixteen String Quartets, and, thirty years later, the Guarneri's recording is still the gold standard.  The powerful, deep sound of the quartet was built on Soyer's bass, and that sound influenced generations of quartets to come.  There isn't a single cellist who has stepped onstage to play Op. 59 No. 1 that hasn't heard or emulated, consciously or not, Soyer's sound.

The only performance of his that I was lucky enough to attend was one of his last.  Late in May 2009 he joined the Quartet for a performance of Schubert's String Quintet in C Major at the Met Museum, as the Quartet's last public performance in New York.  I have seen the Guarneris before, and their Op. 127 was no different: powerful, communicative and sincere.  But as the five of them took the stage for the second half, I knew something was different.  I was one of one hundred or so extra patrons who were seated on the stage, and you could feel the energy, the assurance of the group as they sat down.  I have never felt in a performance so strongly of the conviction and, above all, the communication of the five.  As they finished and took their bows (of which there were many) you could sense from both the audience and the quartet that nobody wanted to leave; you missed them, and him, before the applause even stopped.