Avi Schönfeld is a Dutch-Israeli pianist and composer. He was born in Lodz, Poland on 15 December 1947.
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Schönfeld gave his first concerts in his native Poland before at the age of 19 going to Israel to become a pupil of the Bartók disciple Ilona Vincze-Kraus. After having won several national and international prizes (including the first prize in the Leo Kestenberg competition and one with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra), Schönfeld made his début with the Israeli Radio and Television Orchestra playing Rachmaninov's Paganini Variations before embarking on a concert career that was to take him round the world, embracing also his gifts as composer. In November 1972 at the invitation of the French government, he undertook further studies with Vlado Perlemuter, Yvonne Lefébure, Arthur Rubinstein, Marcel Ciampi in piano and Henryk Szeryng in chamber music as well as with Nadia Boulanger and Alexandre Tansman in composition. After a period of teaching at the Royal Brussels Conservatory, Avi Schönfeld was appointed to a post at the Maastricht Conservatory, in the Netherlands, where he still teaches. In addition to his work, he is also artistic director and founder of EPRIM (European Pianistic Research Institute of Maastricht) as well as artistic adviser to the Anglo Dutch Piano Platform and the Académie Pianistica of the Maastricht Municipal Theatre. Schönfeld frequently receives commissions for writing the obligatory piano compositions for several piano competitions and further serves as a jury member in different international piano competitions.
Among his compositions for piano are: Animato, Sphinx, Labyrinthe, Ombres and Tango-Etude (all published by Max Eschig/Durand), Agitato and Jeu (Henry Lemoine), Légende (Editions Combre), Sonatine Mediterranean - furthermore five piano sonatas (nr. 3: Notturno, nr. 4: Hommage a Chopin, nr. 5: C minor). Among chamber works are a violin sonata and a Ballade for violin and piano, cello sonata, a clarinet sonata, a suite for two pianos and an almost finished piano concerto.
Other musicians said about Avi Schönfeld: