Gil Shaham (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: גיל שחם; born February 19, 1971) is an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist of Israeli Jewish descent.

Biography

Gil Shaham was born in Urbana, Illinois, while his Israeli parents were on an academic fellowship at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

. His father Jacob was an astrophysicist and his mother Meira Diskin was a cytogeneticist. His sister is the pianist Orli Shaham. His brother Shai Shaham is the head of the Laboratory of Developmental Genetics at

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

. Gil Shaham is a graduate of the

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , countr ...

in New York. When he was two the family moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he started violin lessons at the Rubin Academy of Music aged seven, winning annual scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He subsequently attended

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

in Colorado, studying with

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine L ...

and Jens Ellermann, and won a scholarship to the

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

School. He and his sister Orli also studied at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Shaham lives in New York City and teaches at

Bard College Conservatory of Music The Bard College Conservatory of Music is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Founded in 2005, the program is unique among music conservatories in the United States in that all undergraduate students are required to participat ...

. He is married to violinist

Adele Anthony Adele Anthony (born 1 October 1970) is an Australian-American violinist. In 1984, at age 13, she was the youngest winner of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition; she later won other international competitions and studied in New York. She ...

. They have three children.

Music career

Shaham debuted as soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony at age 10. He performed with the

Israel Philharmonic The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

, Israel's foremost orchestra, less than a year later. Shaham won first prize in the Claremont Competition aged 11, and was admitted to Juilliard, where he studied with

and

Hyo Kang In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late ...

. Shaham's career advanced in 1989 when, while a senior at Horace Mann, he replaced an ailing

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

to perform the Bruch and

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

violin concertos with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...

. Shaham won the

Avery Fisher Avery Robert Fisher (March 4, 1906 – February 26, 1994) was an amateur violinist, a pioneer in the field of high fidelity sound reproduction, founder of the Philharmonic Radio Company and Fisher Electronics, and a philanthropist who donated m ...

Career Grant in 1990, and the Premio Internazionale of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena in 1992. Shaham has performed with many leading orchestras, including the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

Russian National Orchestra The Russian National Orchestra (russian: Российский национальный оркестр) was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, ...

, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscriptio ...

, and National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Shaham has played the "Comtesse de Polignac", a

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are c ...

violin of 1699 on loan from Stradivarius Society of Chicago, since 1989.

Discography

* ''Mendelssohn, Bruch: Violin Concertos'' (with

Giuseppe Sinopoli Giuseppe Sinopoli (; 2 November 1946 – 21 April 2001) was an Italian conductor and composer. Biography Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin ...

conducting the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

) (1990) * ''Schumann: Works for Violin and Piano'' (1990) * ''Franck / Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonatas'' (with

Gerhard Oppitz Gerhard Oppitz (born 5 February 1953, Frauenau) is a German classical pianist. He studied with Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer and Wilhelm Kempff. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

) (1992) * ''Wieniawski: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2'' (with

Lawrence Foster Lawrence Foster (born October 23, 1941) is an American conductor of Romanian ancestry. He is currently the artistic director and chief conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the music director of the Marseille Opera and th ...

conducting the

) (1992) * ''Sibelius/Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos'' (with Giuseppe Sinopoli conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra) (1993) * ''Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto;

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

: Violin Concerto and Much Ado about Nothing Suite'' (with Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra) (1994) * ''Paganini for Two'' (with Göran Söllscher) (1994) * ''Vivaldi: The Four Seasons'' (with

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards. The orchestra is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conduct ...

) (1995) * ''Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2'' (with Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra) (1996) * ''Violin Romances'' (with

) (1996) * ''Dvořák for Two'' (with Orli Shaham) (1997) * ''The Fiddler of the Opera'' (with

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

) (1997) * ''

60th Anniversary Gala Concert'' (1997) * ''Berlin Gala: A Salute to Carmen'' (with Anne Sofie von Otter and

Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 t ...

) (1998) * ''American Scenes (Works of Copland, Previn, Barber, Gershwin)'' (1998) * ''Glazunov / Kabalevsky: Meeting in Moscow'' (1998) * ''Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2'' (with

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mo ...

conducting the

) (1999) * ''Pärt: Tabula Rasa'' (1999) * ''Devil's Dance'' (2000) * ''Two Worlds'' (with

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

and

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

) (2000) * ''

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

: Treesong / Violin Concerto / 3 Pieces from

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...

'' (with John Williams conducting the

) (2001) * ''Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time'' (with Myung-Whun Chung) (2001) * ''Brahms: Violin Concerto / Double Concerto'' (with Jian Wang and

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

conducting the

) (2002) * ''Schubert for Two'' (with Göran Söllscher) (2003) * ''The Fauré Album'' (2003) * ''Prokofiev: Works for Violin and Piano'' (with Orli Shaham) (2004) * ''Beethoven: Triple Concerto / Septet'' (with David Zinman and

Yefim Bronfman Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman (russian: Ефим Наумович Бронфман; born April 10, 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist. Biography Bronfman was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 15. H ...

) (2006) * ''The Butterfly Lovers' Concerto for Violin / Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto'' (2007) * ''Mozart in Paris'' (with Orli Shaham) (2008) * ''Elgar: Violin Concerto'' (with David Zinman conducting the Chicago Symphony Orcherstra) (2008) * ''Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor'' (with

and

Truls Mørk Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk (born 25 April 1961) is a Norwegian cellist. Biography Mørk was born in Bergen, Norway to a cellist father, John Fritjof Mørk, and a pianist mother, Turid Otterbech. His mother began teaching him the piano when he w ...

) (2008) * ''Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works'' (with

) (2009) * ''Haydn: Violin Concertos / Mendelssohn: Octet'' (with the Sejong Soloists) (2010) * ''Nigunim: Hebrew Melodies ''(with Orli Shaham) (2013)
1930s Violin Concertos
(2014) * '' Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin '' (2015)

Awards

* Avery Fisher Career Grant (1990) * Premio Internazionale of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (1992) * Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

& Gil Shaham for ''American Scenes (Works of Copland, Previn,

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, Gershwin)'' (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

) * Avery Fisher Award (2008) Presented by his dear friend

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was ...

at a Live from Lincoln Center private presentation of the music of

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works includ ...

in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. * Instrumentalist of the Year (2012)

References

External links

*
Gil Shaham
at Canary Classics
Gil Shaham
in conversation on WGBH Radio Boston {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaham, Gil Israeli classical violinists American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists Jewish classical violinists Jewish American classical musicians Grammy Award winners Juilliard School alumni Deutsche Grammophon artists Columbia University alumni Horace Mann School alumni American people of Israeli descent People from Urbana, Illinois 1971 births Living people 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American violinists