James Raphael
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James Raphael was born in 1953 in Los Angeles to Sephardic Jewish parents. His father was born in Salonika, Greece, while his mother was born in Paris, France and is of Bukharian Jewish descent. Raphael is a great grandson of Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi), founder of the Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem. He is also the second cousin of First Lady of Iceland Dorrit Moussaieff and the first cousin of famous author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Raphael began his piano studies at the age of eight in Brighton, England, after having become intrigued by a 200 year-old piano in his father's antique shop.
The family later moved to Athens, Greece where he studied at the Athens Conservatory of Music, and later to Rome, Italy . He received his diploma from the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia at the age of seventeen, and then continued his perfection studies at the Paris Conservatory of Music with Aldo Ciccolini and Nadia Boulanger, and then in Rome at the Academy of Santa Cecilia with Carlo Zecchi and Rina Rossi, from where he graduated with maximum points and highest possible honors. He also participated in the masterclasses of Nikita Magaloff and Stanislav Neuhaus whose school has produced pianists such as Richter and Ashkenazy. It was in Paris that he first attended a concert by the legendary Arthur Rubinstein and convinced the great pianist to listen to him play. Being profoundly touched, Rubinstein tutored James at various times over the next few years.
James Raphael has embarked on a career of international dimension, performing solo and with orchestras throughout the world. He also competed in several international piano competitions such as the Tschaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow, the Liszt Piano Competition in Budapest and the first Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Israel, greatly acclaimed by both public and jury.
The Vatican Radio has globally transmitted his recordings, as well as his recently published composition “Thirteen Variations on the Theme Hatikva,” dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust in special memory of his grandmother Julie, Uncle Victor and Aunt Beatrice, deported from Salonika to Auschwitz.
The Los Angeles Times describes “Raphael's virtuosic, witty and sophisticated performance of Prokoviev's dynamic Third Piano Concerto inspired conductor and orchestra with stunning results”, while New York Times states, “James Raphael is a world-class pianist, a triumphant artist, a mesmerizing talent and he deserves a standing ovation wherever he plays.”
He has appeared on the Disney Channel on Steve Allen's “Music Room” performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
