David Ludwig

David Ludwig's music has been performed internationally by leading musicians in some of the world's most prestigious locations. His music has been called “entrancing,” and that it “promises to speak for the sorrows of this generation,” (Philadelphia Inquirer). It has further been described as “arresting, dramatically hued...” (The New York Times) and has been noted for “a yearning, poetic quality” (Baltimore Sun). The New Yorker magazine calls him a “musical up-and-comer” and the Chicago Tribune says that he “deserves his growing reputation as one of the up-and-comers of his generation.” He has had performances in such venues in as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Library of Congress, and has been played on PBS and National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition. NPR Music listed him as one of the Top 100 Composers Under Forty in the world in 2011.

Ludwig has written for many prominent artists and ensembles, including soloists Jonathan Biss and Jaime Laredo, ensembles like eighth blackbird and Network for New Music, and orchestras including the Philadelphia, Minnesota, and National Symphonies. He has held residencies with many arts institutions including the Marlboro Music School, the Isabella Gardner Museum, and the MacDowell and Yaddo artist colonies. He has won numerous awards and honors from nationally recognized arts organizations and directs composition and contemporary music programs at festivals around the world.

Born in Bucks County, P.A., Ludwig holds degrees from Oberlin, The Manhattan School of Music, Curtis, and Juilliard, as well as a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.  Ludwig is on the composition faculty of the Curtis Institute where he serves the Artistic Chair of Performance and as the director of the Curtis 20/21 Contemporary Music Ensemble.