A consummate musician recognized for her grace and vitality, Orli Shaham has established an impressive international reputation as one of today's most gifted pianists. Hailed by critics on four continents, Ms. Shaham is in demand for her prodigious skills and admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently praised her "wit, passion, delicacy and humor", and London's Guardian has called Ms. Shaham's playing "perfection."
Orli Shaham has performed with most major orchestras in the United States as well as with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others. She is a frequent guest at numerous summer festivals from Mostly Mozart to Verbier, has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and many more around the world.
Driven by a passion to bring classical music to new audiences, Orli Shaham maintains an active parallel career as a respected broadcaster, music writer and lecturer. She has taught music literature at Columbia University, and contributed articles to Piano Today, Symphony, and Playbill magazines. Ms. Shaham has served as artist in residence on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.
In addition to her musical education, Orli Shaham holds a degree in history from Columbia University. Orli Shaham lives in New York and St. Louis with her husband, conductor David Robertson, stepsons Peter and Jonathan, and toddler twins Nathan and Alex ... read full bio
A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety and vitality, Orli Shaham has established an impressive international reputation as one of today's most gifted pianists. Hailed by critics on four continents, Ms. Shaham is in demand for her prodigious skills and admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently praised her "wit, passion, delicacy and humor" in a performance with the St. Louis Symphony, and London's Guardian said Ms. Shaham's playing was "perfection" during her recent Proms debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Orli Shaham has performed with the Boston, Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, St. Louis and San Francisco Symphonies, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, Bilbao Symphony, Orchestra della Toscana, Orchestre National de Lyon, Taiwan Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic. A frequent guest at summer festivals, she has performed at Ravinia, Verbier, Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Caramoor, Spoleto and Music Academy of the West.
Ms. Shaham has given recitals in North America, Europe and Asia at such renowned concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, and the Herkulessaal in Munich, and has worked with many eminent conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, David Robertson, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano and Gerard Schwartz, among others.
Mozart figures largely in Shaham’s 2009-2010 season. She makes her debut with the Seattle Symphony led by Gerard Schwarz, performing Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos with the pianist Jon Kimura Parker. Return engagements include the Piano Concerto K. 466 with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the K. 488 Concerto with the Rochester Philharmonic; and conducting from the keyboard, Mozart’s K. 414 Concerto on a tour of the East Coast with the International Sejong Soloists, and K. 488 in performance with the Sydney Symphony in Australia.
In addition, Orli’s 2009-2010 season includes a first-time appearance under the baton of Jaime Laredo playing the Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2 in Fort Wayne. Ms. Shaham also continues her role as curator and performer in the Pacific Symphony’s chamber music series in Costa Mesa, California, and will offer solo recital programs in the 2009-2010 season which include the Brahms Sonata No. 3.
Ms. Shaham's recent highlights include her Proms debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall featuring Bernstein's Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, her debut with the Malaysian Philharmonic led by Claus Petr Flor and a special appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall where she performed Brahms F minor piano sonata and the F-A-E Sonata with violinist Gil Shaham. Other US performances included appearances with the St. Louis, San Antonio and Akron symphonies and recitals in Cincinnati and St. Louis. Her performance of Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in July 2009 was praised by critic Matthew Guerrieri in The Faster Times: “Orli Shaham gave a superb account of the solo piano part, with deep color and fine details.” Orli Shaham performed Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the Nashville Symphony led by Giancarlo Guerrero, about which the Tennessean wrote, “The emotional truth of her artistry is balanced with strong technical abilities.” Also in 2008-2009, she was Chamber Music Essentials lecturer for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Driven by a passion to bring classical music to new audiences, Orli Shaham maintains an active parallel career as a respected broadcaster, music writer and lecturer. In 2005, she began a collaboration with Classical Public Radio Network as the host of "Dial-a-Musician," a feature she created especially for the radio network. The concept of the program was to enhance listeners' experiences of music and musicians. During the feature she directed listeners' questions about classical music to fellow musicians -by literally dialing them up for the correct answer. Her program hosted over 60 guests including composer John Adams, pianists Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman, Emerson String Quartet violinist Philip Setzer and cellist David Finckel, and sopranos Natalie Dessay and Christine Brewer. Orli Shaham has taught music literature at Columbia University, and contributed articles to Piano Today, Symphony, and Playbill magazines. Ms. Shaham has served as artist in residence on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.
Orli Shaham and her older brother Gil have collaborated on several recordings including a Deutsche Grammophon recording entitled Dvo?ák for Two, and an all-Prokofiev disc The Prokofiev Album on Canary Classics, ("As fine a recording of the violin and piano music of Prokofiev as has ever been made by one of the finest violinist and pianist teams of the last ten years." Barnes&Noble.com). Their most recent recording, Mozart in Paris, features Mozart Violin Sonatas, Opus 1 and is available on CD from Canary Classics and as a Euroarts DVD. When performing this recorded repertoire live, critics have praised the glorious "sibling revelry" (The Plain Dealer)--musical chemistry, nourished by shared family history and a comfortable give-and-take.
Orli Shaham was recognized early for her prodigious talents. She received her first scholarship for musical study from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation at age five to study with Luisa Yoffe at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. By age seven, she traveled to New York with her family to begin study with Nancy Stessin, and became a scholarship student of Herbert Stessin at The Juilliard School a year later. She has also won the Gilmore Young Artist Award and the Avery Fisher Career Grant, two prestigious prizes given to further the development of outstanding talent. In addition to her musical education, Orli Shaham holds a degree in history from Columbia University. Orli Shaham lives in New York and St. Louis with her husband, conductor David Robertson, stepsons Peter and Jonathan, and toddler twins Nathan and Alex.
Last updated February 2010. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.
