Retirement Wishes for David Alberman

David Alberman has been Principal Second Violin to the LSO since 1998. Born in London, he received his LRAM diploma from the Royal Academy of Music at 16. After playing with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the LSO, he became a Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. A long-standing interest in contemporary music led him in 1986 to join the internationally renowned Arditti Quartet, with whom he took part in the world premieres of more than 200 works, and made a number of recordings which won prizes internationally.

David enjoys coaching, has appeared as Guest Concertmaster for the LSO, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Scottish Chamber and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Bayrischer Rundfunkorchester, and as soloist with the Orchestre de Lille, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, among others.

From Maxine Kwok, First Violin and Board Member

‘It’s hard to know where to begin in writing a tribute to David Alberman, known affectionately (to those of us on the receiving end of his lengthy emails) as DMAX. It’s been a privilege serving on the Board with David these last three years, where littered amongst the mostly serious conversations, we have Alberman gems such as ‘well, that’s a few less Christmas cards for us all this year’.

David has unfailingly been the most professional and prepared member of the LSO for the 22 years I’ve shared a stage with him. I hope he can waltz into a well-deserved retirement from the LSO playing his beloved ‘contemptable music’ as he affectionately calls it. He’ll be greatly missed as Principal Second, Chair and as a huge personality with the most incredible dry wit that often had me crying with laughter.

Goodbye and good luck David, keep that head torch shining brightly!’

From Colin Matthews, LSO Panufnik Composers Scheme Composition Director

‘David has been a mainstay of the LSO for a quarter of a century, and I simply can’t imagine the Orchestra without him. He’s contributed so much to the LSO Panufnik Composers Scheme, always patient and generous with his advice, and making light of any difficulties thrown his way. I hope very much that he’ll continue to be involved – he’s become a friend to everyone who’s taken part in the scheme – and send every possible good wish for a future, which I’m sure will be as illustrious as what is about to be the past.’

From David Jackson, Percussion and Vice-Chair of the Board

‘It is on the LSO Board that David’s capacious knowledge, sharp wit and dry sense of humour mean he is able to deal with often thorny topics with quiet authoritative logic and compassion, whilst always keeping the mood buoyant.

He has chaired the Board and led his Second Violin section (always by example) with quiet confidence and a disarming sense of self-deprecation. His early departure from the LSO leaves a large chasm in both groups.’

From Harriet Rayfield, First Violin and Vice-Chair of the Board

‘David has been quite simply the rock of the LSO during these tumultuous years of the pandemic. I am hugely grateful we had the chance to work so closely together whilst on the Board, as I witnessed first-hand his careful judgment, compassion and sense of fairness in all matters in his role as Chair.

David’s natural intellect, diligence, humility and integrity are always doused in a large dose of self-deprecating humour, which immediately established our easy rapport together.

David was the rarest of Chairs; reluctant to admit credit for a challenge successfully navigated, and always too ready to take the blame for my failings. I will miss him greatly but I know, being a true Renaissance man, he will use his spare time wisely to explore his many other interests.’

From François-Xavier Roth, LSO Principal Guest Conductor

‘Thinking of the LSO without David is a very difficult thing. David has been such an essential member of the Orchestra for decades and I have so many amazing memories with him; I always admired his commitment to all the repertoire, his sovereign virtuosity and especially his dedication to music of our time; he is simply an example to all of us and for the next generations of orchestral musicians. I wish him a fantastic new chapter in life.’

From Sir Simon Rattle, LSO Music Director

‘Where to start talking about David, having worked with him since he was a teenager? And having realised from that moment on, that his keen intelligence is married to one of the sharpest levels of wit and irony in my experience, how can I write something that he will not tear to pieces in seconds? Maybe embarrassment is the path to follow. So, David, forgive me!

This is a musician with everything, a rare treasure chest within an orchestra. The young boy who clambered over the furniture of Stefan Zweig, a familial ancestor, somehow inherited the rare qualities of curiosity and flexibility which make him so unusual.

His interest in music of all periods is profound and playful, and of course contemporary music would not have been the same without him. That such a wide-ranging musician should arrive bang in the middle of a great symphony orchestra is not something any of us could take for granted. How he keeps his patience with the rest of us, who, let’s face it, tend to know considerably less than he does, I will never fathom. The humour probably has a key role there, and as Chair of the LSO it has frequently been life-saving, particularly as he uses it to navigate around the side of problems rather than attacking them face-on. This while remaining idealistic and practical simultaneously.

I can feel him squirming now, this is well nigh as tricky as giving Bernard Haitink a compliment! In Japan they have a beautiful title, sparingly used, but powerful, Living National Treasure. This obviously won’t do here, as this is something for the end of a career, and David, like me, is still within spitting distance of being a teenager. And characteristically, he will be exploring more music from our own time, rather than hanging up the plough. I will leave it to the LSO, past masters of the terrifyingly accurate nickname, to come up with his new title, and just repeat how much we owe him in so many ways for so many years. Dear David, you remain deep in our hearts. Bless you.’

Best wishes for your retirement David, from everyone at the LSO!