AviAvital

“Here is a musician who recognises no boundaries except those of good taste, and who has the artistry to persuade listeners to follow him anywhere.” Gramophone

The first mandolin soloist to be nominated for a classical Grammy, Avi Avital has been compared to Segovia for his championship of his instrument and to Heifetz for his incredible virtuosity. The driving force behind the reinvigoration of the mandolin, he has reshaped the history and the future of his instrument. He has expanded mandolin repertoire through transcriptions and by commissioning over 100 works, with concertos by Higdon, Clyne, Dorman & Sollima.

Highlights of the 2024/25 season include Minnesota Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Freiburg Barockorchester, Philharmonia Baroque, Venice Baroque and il pomo d’oro. He performs with Maurice Steger & Sebastian Wienand, Ksenija Sidorova, Omer Klein and Brooklyn Rider and returns to Cadogan & Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Aula Magna Sapienza Rome, Amici della Musica Florence, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, City Hall Hong Kong, Orchestra Hall Minnesota & Herbst Hall San Francisco.

Other recent engagements include Chicago & Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonie-Orchester Berlin & Orchestre National de Lyon, working with conductors such as Mehta, Nagano, Gilbert, Vänskä, Antonini and Koopman.

In 2023, Avi Avital launched “Between Worlds Ensemble” with a three-part residency at Boulez Saal Berlin & other European venues. The ensemble explores different genres & musical worlds focusing on traditional, classical and folk music from the Iberian Peninsula, Black Sea and South Italy.

Avi Avital’s versatility has led to features as “Portrait Artist” at Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, BOZAR Brussels, Bodensee Festival & La Jolla Music Society California. He visits regularly festivals such as Aspen, Salzburg, Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood, MISA Shanghai, Cheltenham, Verbier, Lucerne, Bad Kissingen, Rheingau Musik Festival & Gstaad.

An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Avi Avital’s seventh album “Concertos”, recorded with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini, features mandolin concertos by Vivaldi, Hummel, Bach, Barbella and Paisiello, winning a 2024 Opus Klassik award for Concerto Recording of the Year. His other albums include “The Art of the Mandolin” (2020), “Avital meets Avital” (2017) and “Between Worlds” (2014).

Born in Be’er Sheva in southern Israel, Avital began learning the mandolin at the age of eight, studying at Jerusalem Music Academy and Conservatorio Cesare Pollini in Padua. He plays a mandolin by Israeli luthier Arik Kerman.