David Hardy, principal cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, achieved international recognition in 1982 as the top American prizewinner at the Seventh International Tchaikovsky Cello Competition in Moscow. Mr. Hardy was also awarded a special prize for the best performance of the Suite for Solo Cello by Victoria Yagling commissioned for the 1982 competition. Tass particularly praised Mr. Hardy's performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Hardy began his cello studies there at the age of eight. At the age of sixteen, he made his debut as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 1979, when he was 21 years old, Mr. Hardy was awarded a certificate in the prestigious Geneva International Cello Competition. The next year, he 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 then Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1994, Mr. Hardy was appointed Principal Cello of the National Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Leonard Slatkin.
Mr. Hardy is well known to audiences through his recital performances, radio and television broadcasts and appearances with orchestras. His playing can also be heard on recordings under the Melodyia, Educo, and Delos labels. Mr. Hardy is a regular performer with the Opus 3 Trio and the 20th Century Consort and has performed solo recitals in the Washington area at the Library of Congress, British Embassy, Wolf Trap, Phillips Collection and the Dumbarton Avenue Concert Series. He can be heard as the solo cellist in the National Symphony Orchestra's recording of Michael Kamen's The New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms, released by Decca Records. Mr. Hardy plays a cello made by Carlo Testore in 1694.
