1st prize winner of the International Bach Competition in Leipzig and Professor of historical keyboard instruments at the University of the Arts Berlin, Israeli born Avinoam Shalev began his piano studies at the age of six. He began his bachelor studies in piano performance (with Prof. Tomer Lev) and musicology and subsequently changed his instrumental subjects to harpsichord (with Dr. Marina Minkin) and organ (with Mr. Alexander Gorin). He graduated summa cum laude and received a Young Artist full scholarship for the Accademia Villa Bossi program in Italy. He then went on to complete two Master’s degrees with Prof. Zvi Meniker at the Musikhochschule Hannover in Germany, on harpsichord and historical pianos, respectively. Between 2018-2020 he worked as an adjunct professor (Lehrbeauftragter) at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. In 2021, he was accepted as professor of historical keyboard instruments at the Universität der Künste Berlin.

He started his solo career at 17, playing Tchaikovsky’s 1st piano concerto on a European concert tour with the Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts Orchestra. The years following included solo recitals in France and Northern Italy. In 2017 he played a solo clavichord recital at sunrise at the Göttingen International Handel Festival. In the years following, 2018 he performed four different programmes on historical piano and organ at the Toujours Mozart Festival in Israel. He had his Wigmore Hall debut in early 2019. He has performed as a soloist with the Baroque orchestra Il Gusto Barocco at the Bachwoche Ansbach Festival and played a solo harpsichord recital at the Bach Festival in Leipzig. Other engagements include performing as a soloist with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow. 2022 includes solo recitals on original historical instruments across England as a trustee of the Keyboard Charitable Trust, solo performances throughout Germany and a school project with Concerto Ispirato.

Avinoam is an avid chamber music player. In 2014 he started the prize-winning, German-Israeli Ensemble Arava. Since 2015 he has been a member of the Baroque orchestra la festa musicale as both soloist and continuo player. With the Lynx Ensemble, he brings together Swedish folk and Baroque music. Le Concert des Amis performs early music by heart in unconventional venues. The show "Händel goes Tinder" presents the composer’s music with a sophisticated, entertaining, modern story.

Avinoam has been a scholarship recipient of Deutschlandstipendium, Live Music Now Hannover and Berlin and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He received the pianist's award at the national German voice competition (BWG) in Berlin in 2014. In 2018 he won the 1st prize and the Bärenreiter prize on harpsichord at the International Bach Competition in Leipzig.

www.avinoamshalev.com

a.shalev (at) udk-berlin.de