Download Amihai Grosz, Viola

Amihai Grosz, Viola
Amihai Grosz, born in 1979 in Jerusalem, Israel, initially learned to play the violin at
the age of 5, before switching to the viola at age 11. In Jerusalem, he was taught by
David Chen, later by Tabea Zimmermann in Frankfurt and Berlin as well as in
Jerusalem by Haim Taub, who had a formative influence on him. Between 1993 and
1999, Amihai Grosz received scholarships through the American-Israeli Cultural
Foundation and was a member of the “Young Musicians Group” of the Jerusalem
Music Center, a program for outstanding young musical talents. This gave him the
opportunity, at a very young age, to work with renowned artists such as Isaac Stern or
the Guarneri Quartet. As early as 1996, he won 1st prize in the Braun Roger Siegel
Competition of the University of Jerusalem. In 2007, he received the renowned
Gottesman Prize for Viola in the Aviv Competition, the most prominent competition in
Israel (comparable to the ARD Competition in Germany).
The fascination with the viola, which he consciously chose as his instrument as a child,
stems from the instrument’s ambivalence. According to Grosz, its sound is the closest
thing to the human voice, and can at times sound like a violin, at other times like a
violoncello; its timbre is not defined. Grosz’ musical background corresponds to this
“non-defined” aspect: In Israel, there was not only one school of teaching; instead,
young musicians were shaped by Mediterranean influences and by Russian and German
traditions, while their curiosity to discover new things was constantly fostered.
For Amihai Grosz, chamber music is the foundation of his work. In 1995, together with
the other section leaders from the university orchestra of the Jerusalem Music Center,
he founded the Jerusalem String Quartet, one of the most interesting young quartets
around today. From the very beginning, the four musicians aimed to create a distinctive
sound, to find a language with its own individual character. The Jerusalem Quartet,
which early on won the Borletti Buitoni Trust Award, gained its central musical stimuli
in master classes taught by Isaac Stern, the LaSalle Quartet, the Emerson String Quartet
and by Frank Peter Zimmermann. Every year, the Quartet awards a composition
commission to an Israeli composer. The ensemble gives concerts at all major
international venues - the Tonhalle Zurich, the Wigmore and the Queen Elizabeth Hall
in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House, to name
just a few. The Quartet has an exclusive contract with the label Harmonia Mundi. A
number of recordings have been awarded international prizes like the BBC Music
Magazine chamber award or the ECHO Classic Award 2009.
Amihai Grosz works, in solo and in chamber music projects, with artists such as Yefim
Bronfman, Emmanuel Pahud, Mitsuko Uchida, Oleg Maisenberg, Janine Jansen, Julian
Rachlin and David Geringas; he performs in concert houses and at festivals all over the
world, including at the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Delft Festival, Salon
Festival and Verbier Festival, at the BBC Proms, in the Bahnhof Rolandseck, at the
Utrecht International Chamber Music Festival, at Spectrum Concerts Berlin and at the
West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
After 10 years of professional work, 2010 marks the start of something new for Amihai
Grosz: Beginning in the 2010/11 season, Grosz is the Principal Violist with the Berliner
Philharmoniker, an orchestra with which he has worked on various projects in recent
years.
Additionally, Amihai Grosz intends to devote more of his time to his solo career. Until
now he could be heard playing with internationally renowned orchestras such as Daniel
Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra or the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. In
the upcoming season, concerts are planned at the Valencia Opera House, in the
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Megaron in Athens and with the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Amihai Grosz plays a Gaspar-da-Salo viola from the year 1570, which is a lifelong loan
made available to him by a private collection.
(Text: Sophie Schricker, English version: Peter Rigney)