2006 Opening Concert

The Ariel Quartet; Violin, Violin, Cello, Viola
January 11, 2006

"To say that they are unusual is an understatement. They are extraordinary and a wonderful ambassador for our community."
Itzhak Perlman

Photo: Susan wilson

"In a life time of mentoring young quartets, I have never heard a quartet so young, play this well.the sky is the limit!"
Paul Katz

Professor of Cello and Chamber Music, New England Conservatory
Cellist, Cleveland Quartet

".the music's poetic mode was captured delightfully!"
Jerusalem Post

".a tour de force displaying the deepest concentration"
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
On the quartet's German European debut (2004)

The Ariel Quartet have been playing together since age 13, a phenomenon quite rare in the world of chamber music. They have won numerous awards and accolades worldwide for their stunning performances. Many well-know musical personalities, including Maestro Itzhak Perlman, have predicted a great future for this group.

The Quartet was founded in 1998 and was coached by violinist Avi Abramovich, a leading teacher in Israel, and present head of the string department at the Jerusalem Academy of Music. Since 2004, the group has been under the tutelage of Paul Katz, Kim Kashkashian and other teachers at the New England Conservatory.

Ariel has performed in major venues in Israel and abroad. Their professional debut was in 2000 at the Jerusalem Music Centre, broadcast live on Israel Radio (The Voice of Music). In addition, they performed at the Daniel Days Festival in Holland. In 2002 they performed at the Chopin Academy in Warsaw and participated in the Premio Paolo Borciani String Quartet Competition in Italy. In February 2003 the Quartet won 1st prize in the international competition "Franz Schubert and the Music of Modernity" in Graz, Austria. Later that year they participated in the first International Music Festival of Limmasol, Cyprus and performed at the Kaisersaal in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2004 the quartet took part in the "Great Lakes" Chamber Music Festival (Michigan, USA) and performed at the "Musee du Louvre" in Paris, France. Their 2005 tour has included venues in the USA, Israel and Germany, as well as a special invitation from the Perlman Music Program to perform at the Neue Galerie in New York City.

The quartet's professional studies have included workshops coached by Michael Tree, the Amadeus Summer Course in London (2000-'03) and Izhak Perlman's chamber music course at Shelter Island (2004-'05), by special invitation. The members of the quartet began their advanced studies in 2004 at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, with support from the America Israel Cultural Foundation, both as individuals and as a quartet. The Ariel Quartet is currently one of the resident ensembles of the Jerusalem Music Centre.

The name Ariel is one of Jerusalem's synonyms.

Ariel Quartet

Alexandra Kazovsky, violin
Gershon Gerchikov, violin
Sergey Tarashchansky, viola
Amit Even-Tov, cello

December 5, 2005
Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Service
Alon Goldstein, Piano & Adiel Shmit-Binur, Cello

Alon Goldstein

Alon Goldstein is one of the most respected young pianists on the international scene. Admired for technical prowess and musical intelligence, he is poised to lead his talented generation. Goldstein earned his masters degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he worked intensively with Leon Fleisher. He has earned glowing recommendations from Fleisher, Claudio Abbado, and Zubin Mehta, among others.

In recent seasons, Mr. Goldstein has played with the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Baltimore, Vancouver, and Saint Louis Symphony orchestras under such conductors as Raphael Fr?beck de Burgos, Peter Oundjian, and Leon Fleisher. Other recent highlights include recitals at the Metropolitan Museum and Peoples' Symphony Concerts in New York, Dame Myra Hess Memorial concert series in Chicago, The Phillips Collection and Strathmore Hall in Washington DC. Recent international appearances include the Jerusalem Camerata and the Orchestre National de l'Ile de France in addition to closing the 2004 "Proms at St. Judes" festival in London.

During the 2004-05 season Mr. Goldstein is reunited with Peter Oundjian in his third appearance with the Saint Louis Symphony in addition to his debuts with the Dallas Symphony and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Recitals include performances at the Ravinia Festival and Bard Music Festival. Internationally, Alon returns to the "George Enescu" Philharmonic in Bucharest, and performs with the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, and at the Kremlin in Moscow.

Adiel Shmit

Born in 1978, in Jerusalem, to a family of musicians, Adiel started playing the cello at the age of 5 with Professor Shmuel Magen. At the age of 11, he won 1st prize in a young talents competition in Israel and later performed concerts and recitals in Hungary, Czechoslovakia , Germany and Belgium.

Adiel continued his studies with the renowned Russian cellist Mikhail Khomitzer at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music. Since 1996, Adiel is a scholarship laureate of the "America-Israel Cultural Foundation." He is a recipient of a special prize from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy for best performance of 20th century music, and in 1998-99 won prizes in solo and hamber music competitions.

In July 2001, he performed under Daniel Barenboim in Chicago,and with members of Berlin State Opera Orchestra. Adiel has recorded numerous times for radio and television, and last year recorded a debut CD with pianist Boris Feiner. Currently Adiel continues his studies with Professor Frances Marie Uitti at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In 2002 Adiel performed at the Casalmaggiore Music Festival in Italy, The Artur Balsam foundation Workshop for Chamber music In Indiana, and His engagements include concerts and recitals in Israel, Belgrade, Indiana and New York. A second CD will be released later this year.