Amihai Grosz
Amihai Grosz | Picture: Stefan Höderath

Informations


Facts

Born in Jerusalem, Israel
Member since 01.09.2010


Biography

Amihai Grosz plays one of the rare violas from the famous school of Gasparo de Salò, which differs from the brighter tonal ideal of Vivaldi and Guaneri: “The sound”, says the long-time first principal viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker, “is more down-to-earth, woodier and of course wonderfully rich in overtones. But the timbre is a little darker. With deeper instruments like cello, viola and double bass, it sounds much nicer”.

Grosz, who switched from violin to viola at the age of eleven, studied under David Chen at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, under Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, and under Haim Taub at the Keshet Eilon Music Center. He received various scholarships and prizes, was a member of the Young Musicians Group of the Jerusalem Music Center, and played for many years in the famous Jerusalem Quartet.

In 2010, Grosz became a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker, which was a leap of faith: “I didn’t know what it would be like, I hadn’t been in any other orchestra before. And now to bring this wonderful music to life, with this strong sense of community – it’s magical. I am proud to be part of this orchestra. Because it's a force of nature.” In addition, Amihai Grosz is a sought-after soloist – not only with the Berliner Philharmoniker – and has worked with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tugan Sokhiev, Klaus Mäkelä, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle.


Awards

Gottesman-Prize: Aviv-Competition in Jerusalem (2007)
First Prize: Brown-Roger-Siegel Competition (1996)


Ensembles of the Berliner Philharmoniker

Made in Berlin
Philharmonic Octett

New digital album
Amihai Grosz plays William Walton and Bohuslav Martinů


Behind the music: Amihai Grosz
Video portrait

Behind the music: 1st solo violist Amihai Grosz in “Don Quixote”

On the 2019 tour of Japan, solo viola Amihai Grosz talks about his “role” in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote.

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