Avi Avital
Grammy-nominated mandolinist Avi Avital is one
of the world's most exciting and enterprising musicians, deeply committed to building a
fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance and distinctive new repertoire,
while also celebrating the instrument's Classical roots. He performs internationally as an
orchestral soloist, chamber musician, and Baroque specialist, and also ventures into the
realms of jazz and world music.
Mr. Avital has performed at prestigious venues throughout the world, including Carnegie
Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Berliner Philharmonie, 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, San Diego Symphony, Colorado Symphony,
San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, and Berliner
Symphoniker, under the batons of Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle, and Philippe
Entremont, among others. Mr. Avital has been a guest at the Tanglewood, Aspen, Lucerne,
Spoleto, Ravenna, and Savannah music festivals. He has performed more than 80 world
premieres, including works written for him by composers Avner Dorman, David Bruce, Federico
Gardella, and Josef Bardanashvili. He has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and
Tiny Desk Concerts.
Mr. Avital begins the 2014-2015 concert season with a recital at London's Wigmore Hall. In
addition to other solo performances, he collaborates with Mahan Esfahani, Shalev Ad-El,
Ksenija Sidorova, Ray Chen, David Greilsammer, Andreas Scholl, and the Danish String
Quartet. He also embarks on an extensive North American tour with Venice Baroque Orchestra.
Forthcoming orchestral engagements include concerto performances with the Mahler Chamber
Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Die Kölner Akademie, Geneva Camerata, Israel Camerata,
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburger Symphoniker, and I
Musici di Roma.
An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Mr. Avital's debut recording for the
label in 2012, BACH, features his own transcriptions of J. S. Bach concertos for
harpsichord and violin in arrangements for mandolin and orchestra. His second album,
Between Worlds, was released in January 2014 and combines elements of classical music and
traditional folk. An album with Venice Baroque Orchestra was released just last month. In
2010, Mr. Avital became the first mandolin player to receive a Grammy Award nomination as
Best Instrumental Soloist for his recording of Avner Dorman's Mandolin Concerto with Andrew
Cyr and the Metropolis Ensemble. In 2008, he received Germany's coveted ECHO Award for his
recording with the David Orlowsky Trio.
Mr. Avital was born in Beer Sheva, Israel, in 1978. He began learning the mandolin at the
age of eight and later graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and
Conservatorio statale di Musica "Cesare Pollini" in Padova, Italy. In 2013, he was the
recipient of a generous grant from the Salon De Virtuosi. Mr. Avital lives in
Berlin.