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The artistry of Boris Berman is well
known to the audiences of over forty countries on six continents. His
highly acclaimed performances have included appearances with the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, The Philharmonia (London),
the Toronto Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit
Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Petersburg
Philharmonic, and the Royal Scottish Orchestra. A frequent performer on
major recital series, he has also appeared in important festivals, such
as Marlboro, Waterloo, Bergen, Ravinia and Israel Festival, to name a
few.
Born in Moscow, Boris Berman studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory
with the distinguished pianist Lev Oborin and graduated with distinction
as both pianist and harpsichordist. He performed extensively throughout
the Soviet Union as a recitalist and appeared as guest soloist with
numerous orchestras, including the Moscow Philharmonic and the Moscow
Chamber orchestras.
In 1973, Boris Berman left a flourishing career in the Soviet Union to
immigrate to Israel. He quickly established himself as one of the most
sought- after keyboard performers, as well as one of this country's more
influential musical personalities. Presently, he resides in USA.
Boris Berman has been the Founding Director of the Music Spectrum
concert series in Israel (1975-84) and of the Yale Music Spectrum series
in the USA (1984-1997). These concert series were hailed by the critics
for the inventiveness of their programming.
Mr. Berman is an active performer of chamber music. He had appeared in
numerous concerts and festivals with such artists and groups as Misha
Maisky, Heinz Holliger, Aurele Nicolet, Shlomo Mintz, Gyorgy Pauk, Ralph
Kirshbaum, Frans Helmerson, Natalia Gutman, Tokyo Quartet, Vermeer
Quartet, The Netherland Wind Ensemble and many others.
A dedicated teacher of international stature, Boris Berman has served on
the faculties of the world's finest schools, such as Indiana (Bloomington),
Boston, Brandeis and Tel-Aviv universities. Currently, he heads the
Piano Department at Yale School of Music . He also conducts master
classes throughout the world. He has been the Founding Director of the
Yale Summer Piano Institute (1990-92) and of the International Summer
Piano Institute in Hong Kong (1995-97).
Mr Berman's ability to recognize and commitment to nurture young talents
are obvious reasons for him being invited to join panels of jurors of
various national and international competitions, such as those in Leeds,
Dublin and the Artur Rubinstein Competition Tel-Aviv.
in In 2000, the prestigious Yale University Press has published Boris
Berman's "Notes from the Pianist's Bench". In this book, Professor
Berman draws on his vast experience as a performer and a teacher to
explore issues of piano technique and music interpretation. The book has
been translated to several languages. Mr. Berman is often invited to
give lectures on these subjects in various universities and conferences
around the world.
In the field of recordings, Mr. Berman's acclaimed releases on Philips,
Deutsche Gramophon and Melodia labels have been complemented with 2 CDs
of all piano sonatas by Alexander Scriabin for the Music and Arts label
and a recital of Shostakovich piano works (Ottavo recordings), which
received the Edison Classic Award in Holland, the Dutch equivalent of
the Grammy. The recording of three Prokofiev Concertos with the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi conducting (Chandos) marked the
beginning of an ambitious project of recording the complete Prokofiev
solo piano works. The first pianist ever to undertake this task, Mr
Berman has released it on nine Chandos CDs to great critical acclaim. In
addition, Chandos has issued Mr. Berman's recitals of works by Debussy,
Stravinsky, and Schnittke, as well as chamber music of Janacek, and -
together with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Neeme Jarvi -
Concerto by Stravinsky.
Berman's most recent discography shows the breadth of his repertoire: a
disc "Debussy for Children" (Ottavo); two releases of works for prepared
piano by John Cage (Naxos), which was named the Top Recording by the BBC
Music Magazine; the Grammy-nominated Piano Quintets of Shostakovich and
Schnittke with Vermeer Quartet (Naxos); and, quite unexpectedly, a
recording of Scott Joplin's Ragtimes (Ottavo). In the recently issued
Naxos collection of complete Sequenzas by Luciano Berio, Berman plays
Sequenza IV for piano. (Recordings)
In 2006-2007, Mr. Berman appears with orchestras, as well as in
festivals and recitals,
in USA, Japan, China, Israel, Australia, Russia, Italy, Poland, England,
Portugal, Spain, Germany, and Holland. (Touring) |