Tzavta #7
ROMAN RABINOVICH
Praised by The New York Times for his “uncommon sensitivity and feeling”, the eloquent young pianist Roman Rabinovich is the winner of the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. He has performed throughout Europe and the USA in such prestigious venues as Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Cité de la Musique in Paris and the Millennium Stage at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center.
Dubbed “a true polymath, in the Renaissance sense of the word” (Seen & Heard International, 2016), Rabinovich is also a composer and visual artist. Rabinovich often includes his own compositions in his recital programs. In summer of 2016 he embarked upon the Haydn Project, encompassing recitals of Haydn’s complete keyboard sonatas at the Bath Festival in UK and partial cycles at the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland and ChamberFest Cleveland, as well as artwork inspired by Haydn. After his recent debut recital in Lincoln Center the New York Times hailed Mr. Rabinovich's Haydn Sonatas as "admirable interpretations, performed with a rich, full-blooded sound, singing lines and witty dexterity."
Lauded as “a master of tone-color” (International Piano, 2018) Rabinovich was the first of three young pianists to be championed by András Schiff, who selected him for his Building Bridges series in Zurich’s Tonhalle, Berlin, Ruhr Piano Festival, and New York’s SubCulture. Last season’s highlights included Mendelssohn Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Roger Norrington, Rachmaninov Concerto No. 3 with the KBS Orchestra and Yoel Levi, Brahms Concerto No. 1 with the Szczecin Philharmonic, Beethoven “Emperor” Concerto with Israel Symphony, Prokofiev No. 3 with Des Moines Symphony, Bernstein ‘The Age of Anxiety’ with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, Bartok Concerto No.2 with the Dohnanyi Symphony in Budapest. Hid recital engagements included the Washington Performing Arts Society, Vancouver Recital Society, the Houston Society for the Performing Arts, the Philip Lorenz Memorial Piano Series, Chopin Society in St Paul, MN, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and Walter Reade Theatre and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff. In spring 2014 Mr. Rabinovich has toured with the Haifa Symphony throughout the United States, performing as soloist with 4 different piano concertos in 30 concerts.
Rabinovich began drawing aged 10, and though he never took formal lessons it has been a passion of his ever since. Since 2010 he has created art on his iPhone and iPad, which are much easier to transport when traveling internationally for concerts. Technology is frequently also a feature of his concerts, as he performs from iPad rather than sheet music.
Rabinovich, "whose mature, self-assured playing belies his chronological age” (San Fransisco Classical Voice) made his Israel Philharmonic debut under Zubin Mehta aged just 10, having immigrated to Israel a year before from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Rabinovich’s parents are piano teachers and his earliest lessons were with them, before studying with Arie Vardi in Israel. He then attended the Curtis Institute of Music as a student of Seymour Lipkin and achieved his Masters Degree at the Juilliard School, where he was taught by Robert McDonald.
Rabinovich is releasing vol. 1 of the complete Haydn Piano Sonatas on First Hand Records in the fall of 2018. He recently recorded ballets by Ravel, Prokofiev and Stravinsky for the Orchid Classics label to critical acclaim.
