David Oei (; surname pronounced "Wee" in Hokkien, born 1950) is a Hong Kong-born American classical
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
.
Early life and education
Oei was born in Hong Kong and started performing aged four. By the age of nine he had performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He was awarded eleven first prizes at the Hong Kong Music Festival. He attended the
Interlochen Center for the Arts
Interlochen Center for the Arts ( '; also known as I.C.A. or Inty) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit corporation which operates Visual arts education, arts education institutions and Music venue, performance venues. Established in 1928 b ...
music camp for five years and won five concerto competitions there.
In 1964, aged 13, he performed Piano Concerto No. 20 (Mozart) with the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...
; a reviewer wrote:
:"Considering the age of the soloist, it was an outstanding performance and perhaps the critic should stop right there. Young David, however, is a musician, performing at an adult technical level in a world of adult artists. The critic, therefore, must consider his performance in that light also and then he was not quite so outstanding. ... Basically, Master David Oei has just not lived long enough to have acquired the emotional experience and understanding so necessary for superior interpretation of this work. It would be fortunate if we could hear him again in fifteen years. The comparison in the performances would undoubtedly be astounding."
Oei attended the
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...
and the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
.
Other awards include WQXR Young Artists, Young Musicians Foundation (1972), and Paul Ulanowsky Chamber Pianists competitions.
He was a soloist in one of the ''
Young People's Concerts
The Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts of classical music in the world.
Symphony concerts for young people in New York City (before 1924)
On November 26, 1898, conductor F ...
'' conducted by
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
.
Career
Oei has been a soloist with the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
, the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...
and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
In 2015, Oei was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old music student. He accepted his guilt and agreed a plea deal.
Personal life
Oei lives in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
with his wife, the violinist Eriko Sato.
Discography
*1974: ''The Intimate P. D. Q. Bach'': John Ferrante (
countertenor
A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...
), David Oei (piano) (
Vanguard
The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
...
)
*1978:
Karel Husa
Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016) was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 1954, he emigrated to ...
New World Records
New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.Liebeslieder Polkas'': David Oei (piano), Anne Epperson (piano) (Vanguard)
*1984: ''Peter Schickele Clarinet Quartet'': Eriko Sato (violin), Fred Sherry (cello), David Shifrin (clarinet), David Oei (piano) (Vanguard)
*1989: ''
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
&
Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...
Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
Chin Kim
Chin Kim (born 1957) is a Korean-born American classical violinist, largely educated in the United States through the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music.
Activities
Chin Kim has performed extensively throughout North America, Eur ...
(violin), David Oei (piano) (Pro Arte)
*1995: '' Alec Wilder Works For Horn'': David Jolley (horn), David Oei (piano) ( Arabesque Records)
*1997: ''Old Friends'': Christopher Lee (violin), David Oei (piano) (Quattro Corde)
*2004: ''Karel Husa Recollections: Quintet of the Americas'', David Oei (piano) (New World Records)
*2005: ''Donald Crockett Ceiling Of Heaven'': Renee Jolles (violin), Nicolas Cords (viola), Edward Aaron (cello), David Oei (piano) ( Albany Records)
*2007: ''
Strauss
Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...
and
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...