Recognized by The New York Times for his “exquisitely sensitive playing” and “stunning agility,” GRAMMY-nominated Avi Avital has emerged as one of today’s most exciting and entrepreneurial young musicians. Deeply committed to building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performances and exciting new repertoire, Avital will open your ears and imagination with an entirely new experience.
“Avital was electrifying to watch and hear… [He] takes the listener to the brink of wildest expectation and then leaps over those boundaries.” – Boston Musical Intelligencer
Program
Avi Avital
Kedma
J. S. Bach
Partita in D minor no. 2, BWV 1004
Allemande – Courante – Sarabande – Gigue – Chaconne
Yasuo Kuwahara
“Improvised Poem” for mandolin solo
Maurice Ravel
Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera
Manuel de Falla
“Siete Canciones Populares Españolas”
El Paño Moruno, Seguidilla murciana, Asturiana, Jota, Canción, Nana, Polo
Béla Bartók
Romanian Folk Dances
Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
Brâul (Sash Dance)
Pe loc (In One Spot)
Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum)
Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
Mărunel (Fast Dance)
Links
Biography
Recognized by The New York Times for his “exquisitely sensitive playing” and “stunning agility,” GRAMMY nominated mandolinist Avi Avital is one of the world’s most exciting and entrepreneurial young musicians. He is deeply committed to building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance and exciting new repertoire. Haaretz Daily has described Mr. Avital’s playing as “everything you never dreamt a mandolin could do…truly breathtaking in virtuosity and dedication.”
An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Avi Avital is the first mandolin player to receive a Grammy nomination in the category “Best Instrumental Soloist” for his recording of Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto with Andrew Cyr and the Metropolis Ensemble. In June 2012, Mr. Avital released his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon entitled BACH – a disc of harpsichord and violin concerti, arranged for mandolin (“Avi Avital’s brand-new version of familiar Bach compositions is downright radical.” – The Denver Post). He received Germany’s coveted ECHO Prize for his 2008 recording with the David Orlowsky Trio and is a former winner of the Aviv Competition, the preeminent national competition for Israeli soloists. Mr. Avital has released numerous recordings in the disparate genres of klezmer, baroque, and new classical music for the Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical BMG, and Naxos labels. His recordings and live performances have been broadcast on radio stations around the world, including Boston’s WGBH, New York’s WQXR and on nationally syndicated NPR programs such as All Things Considered. He has also performed live for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series and WQXR’s Café Concert series.
In support of his latest Bach release in June, Mr. Avital embarked on a four-city tour of the northeast United States, performing at Boston’s Lily Pad, Washington D.C.’s Sixth & I, Philadelphia’s Tin Angel and New York City’s Barbès and Le Poisson Rouge. He was part of Deutsche Grammophon’s first Yellow Lounge presentation in the U.S. and performed at the Universal Music presentation meeting for iTunes in Cupertino, CA. Additional engagements during the 2012-2013 season include performances with the Colorado Symphony playing Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto and the San Diego Symphony with the world premiere performance of a work by David Bruce. He is in residency for the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts and plays chamber music with The Avital Trio (mandolin, harp, guitar) at Molloy College in Long Island, the Illuminations series in New York City and at Barbès in Brooklyn.
Avi Avital is internationally regarded for his performances at venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, KKL Luzern, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and Wigmore Hall in London. He has appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Berliner Symphoniker under the batons of Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle and Philippe Entremont, among others. Mr. Avital has collaborated extensively with artists such as clarinetist Giora Feidman, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and trumpeter and composer Frank London. He has also been featured at the Tanglewood, Luzern, Spoleto, and Ravenna summer music festivals.
In 2012, Mr. Avital joined the Silk Road Project workshop to collaborate on a new work by composer David Bruce. He is presently working with violinist Ittai Shapira on a commission by Ariel Blumenthal in memory of journalist Daniel Pearl as well as an interactive video arts project in collaboration with Euroarts, highlighting Venetian music of the 17th century.
Avi Avital is a graduate of the Jerusalem Music Academy and the Conservatorio Cesare Pollini of Padova, Italy. He lives in Berlin.