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‘Top Dror’ Israeli pianist to play benefit for Hillel
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BY: ALAN SMASON, Staff Reporter
Israeli pianist Dror Biran, 29, has been at the keyboards ever since he was a toddler.
To the astonishment of his parents, he began to entertain himself at age 3 by plucking out tunes on his family’s piano at their home in Ashdod, Israel. Soon, the third of four siblings began playing songs from memory, and a few years later, his parents decided to move the family to Tel Aviv to expand Dror’s musical horizons.
“The whole family moved in order to get me a better (music) education,” he explains. “They were always very supportive.”
A gifted performer who has appeared as a recital soloist and in concert with such celebrated ensembles such as the Johannesburg and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, Biran has perfect pitch.
After studying with distinguished professor Arie Vardi at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, Biran entered and won several top prizes in national and international competitions. Among these were the 1997 Cleveland and the 1999 Dino Ciani International Piano Competitions and the 2000 Aviv Israeli Competition, where he was awarded the coveted Rafi Guralnik prize for piano.
After he earned his master’s degree from Tel Aviv University, he sought other opportunities outside of Israel.
“I liked Cleveland,” he says. “I liked the atmosphere, and the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is one of the best music schools in the world.”
Now he can add “doctor” to his long list of credits. He received his Ph.D. in music theory and composition from CIM this past May and has elected to remain there as a part-time member of the school’s faculty.
“My first love is teaching,” he explains. Aside from some touring dates slated for South Africa and Europe in 2007, Biran will stay in Cleveland and continue his teaching duties at CIM.
Biran is intent on paying back the hospitality he received while living in Cleveland for the past four years. As part of a benefit for Hillel, he is performing a concert of piano music at Park Synagogue Main on Wed., Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m.
“Everyone should see it as a means to help the Jewish life here in Cleveland and the University Circle area,” says the charming and down-to-earth Biran.
But, why Hillel?
“I saw the work that they do here, which is essential, “ he explains. “They engage students and enrich student life here. We all need to support this wonderful organization.”
His solo program on a Steinway grand piano will feature three composers: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, each representing, respectively, the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods of classical music.
Biran will first perform the “Prelude and Fugue in G-Sharp Minor” from J.S. Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II.”
He describes Brahms’s “Six Piano Pieces” (Op. 118) as “very intricate, very moving pieces.” Although each piece has its own character, one of the most demanding is the “Dies Erie,” or “Day of Judgment,” he says. That theme has been used by other noted composers including Corelli and Rachmaninoff, he adds, and is ponderous — what some might regard as “depressing.”
Biran considers Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” his final program selection, as one of the more important compositions in music history. With its dense opening lines and lighter minuet in the second movement, everything leads to the final, stormy third movement, he says. “This was the pivotal moment when Beethoven changed the structure of the sonata in general.”
Aside from solo work, Biran has been featured in highly regarded chamber ensembles such as the Carmel and Aviv String Quartets and the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra.
He practices every day, both alone and with other performers. “Solo music and chamber music are equal in importance,” Biran observes. He believes that playing chamber music increases musical ability. “You need to listen and communicate with the other players.”
“In solo music, it’s all about you,” he admits. “Applause is definitely addictive, because you work so hard.”
Biran regards his job of music instructor as an integral part of inspiring others to enjoy classical music. “There are a lot of people listening to classical music,” he concedes, “but, I don’t see a new generation of classical music lovers.” Part of the reason, he suggests, may be that classical music can be very expensive. Expensive to players who must purchase costly instruments and to listeners who often pay high ticket prices to attend live performances.
Biran is not content to be defined by any one style of music. “I’m playing jazz. I’m playing popular music. I’m playing anything that I can.” He is also drawn, he admits, to the rhythms found in many of today’s hip-hop melodies.
Dr. Dror Biran will play a benefit piano concert for Hillel at Park Synagogue Main on Wed., Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Fee. Dessert reception follows; dietary laws observed. Call 216-231-0040 or e-mail jdr1217@sbcglobal.net.
asmason@cjn.org
To the astonishment of his parents, he began to entertain himself at age 3 by plucking out tunes on his family’s piano at their home in Ashdod, Israel. Soon, the third of four siblings began playing songs from memory, and a few years later, his parents decided to move the family to Tel Aviv to expand Dror’s musical horizons.
“The whole family moved in order to get me a better (music) education,” he explains. “They were always very supportive.”
A gifted performer who has appeared as a recital soloist and in concert with such celebrated ensembles such as the Johannesburg and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, Biran has perfect pitch.
After studying with distinguished professor Arie Vardi at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, Biran entered and won several top prizes in national and international competitions. Among these were the 1997 Cleveland and the 1999 Dino Ciani International Piano Competitions and the 2000 Aviv Israeli Competition, where he was awarded the coveted Rafi Guralnik prize for piano.
After he earned his master’s degree from Tel Aviv University, he sought other opportunities outside of Israel.
“I liked Cleveland,” he says. “I liked the atmosphere, and the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is one of the best music schools in the world.”
Now he can add “doctor” to his long list of credits. He received his Ph.D. in music theory and composition from CIM this past May and has elected to remain there as a part-time member of the school’s faculty.
“My first love is teaching,” he explains. Aside from some touring dates slated for South Africa and Europe in 2007, Biran will stay in Cleveland and continue his teaching duties at CIM.
Biran is intent on paying back the hospitality he received while living in Cleveland for the past four years. As part of a benefit for Hillel, he is performing a concert of piano music at Park Synagogue Main on Wed., Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m.
“Everyone should see it as a means to help the Jewish life here in Cleveland and the University Circle area,” says the charming and down-to-earth Biran.
But, why Hillel?
“I saw the work that they do here, which is essential, “ he explains. “They engage students and enrich student life here. We all need to support this wonderful organization.”
His solo program on a Steinway grand piano will feature three composers: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, each representing, respectively, the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods of classical music.
Biran will first perform the “Prelude and Fugue in G-Sharp Minor” from J.S. Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II.”
He describes Brahms’s “Six Piano Pieces” (Op. 118) as “very intricate, very moving pieces.” Although each piece has its own character, one of the most demanding is the “Dies Erie,” or “Day of Judgment,” he says. That theme has been used by other noted composers including Corelli and Rachmaninoff, he adds, and is ponderous — what some might regard as “depressing.”
Biran considers Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” his final program selection, as one of the more important compositions in music history. With its dense opening lines and lighter minuet in the second movement, everything leads to the final, stormy third movement, he says. “This was the pivotal moment when Beethoven changed the structure of the sonata in general.”
Aside from solo work, Biran has been featured in highly regarded chamber ensembles such as the Carmel and Aviv String Quartets and the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra.
He practices every day, both alone and with other performers. “Solo music and chamber music are equal in importance,” Biran observes. He believes that playing chamber music increases musical ability. “You need to listen and communicate with the other players.”
“In solo music, it’s all about you,” he admits. “Applause is definitely addictive, because you work so hard.”
Biran regards his job of music instructor as an integral part of inspiring others to enjoy classical music. “There are a lot of people listening to classical music,” he concedes, “but, I don’t see a new generation of classical music lovers.” Part of the reason, he suggests, may be that classical music can be very expensive. Expensive to players who must purchase costly instruments and to listeners who often pay high ticket prices to attend live performances.
Biran is not content to be defined by any one style of music. “I’m playing jazz. I’m playing popular music. I’m playing anything that I can.” He is also drawn, he admits, to the rhythms found in many of today’s hip-hop melodies.
Dr. Dror Biran will play a benefit piano concert for Hillel at Park Synagogue Main on Wed., Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Fee. Dessert reception follows; dietary laws observed. Call 216-231-0040 or e-mail jdr1217@sbcglobal.net.
asmason@cjn.org
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