Atar Arad
Encyclopedia
Atar Arad is an Israeli American
violist
, professor of music
, essayist and composer
.
He has performed in top venues around the world both as a featured soloist with orchestras in and as a member of the distinguished Cleveland Quartet
from 1980 to 1987, taking the seat previously established by founding member Martha Strongin Katz
. He was succeeded by James Dunham.
Arad currently teaches at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music
in Bloomington
, and at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois
as well as the Domaine Forget
Music and Dance Academy in Quebec
. Previously he was Professor of Viola at the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, New York
. He has also taught at the Shepherd School of Music
at Rice University
in Houston, TX and has been an artist/lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University
in Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to 1980 he served on faculties at Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth and the Royal Northern College of Music
, Manchester, England.
in his home city of Tel Aviv, Israel and received an Artist Diploma in 1966 from the Samuel Rubin Israeli Academy of Music. In 1968 he was selected for study at Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Waterloo, Belgium
, earning a Laureate there in 1971 and a Diplome Superieure from Brussels Conservatory in 1973.
Having decided to devote himself to the viola in 1971, he entered the Carl Flesch International Competition in 1972 as a violist, winning the City of London prize in his first public appearance with the instrument. Two months later he repeated, winning first prize in the International Viola Competition in Geneva
.
He began a career in Europe as a soloist with major orchestras and a featured player at prestigious festivals.
His essays have explored compositional aspects of viola concertos:
His has recorded as featured soloist or with the Cleveland Quartet on the RCA
Red Seal, CBS
Masterworks, Teldec
Telefunken, Telarc and RIAX Records Classical labels.
, were born in Tel Aviv
, Israel
.
Israeli American
Israeli Americans are Americans of Israeli descent. According to the 2000 census, there were 106,839 people of Israeli ancestry in the United States.- Demographics :...
violist
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, professor of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, essayist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
He has performed in top venues around the world both as a featured soloist with orchestras in and as a member of the distinguished Cleveland Quartet
Cleveland Quartet
The Cleveland Quartet was one of the world's leading string quartets for over two decades. It was founded in 1969 by violinists Donald Weilerstein and Peter Salaff, cellist Paul Katz and violist Martha Strongin Katz, at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The quartet subsequently disbanded in 1995...
from 1980 to 1987, taking the seat previously established by founding member Martha Strongin Katz
Martha Strongin Katz
Martha Strongin Katz is a violist and member of the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she teaches viola and chamber music...
. He was succeeded by James Dunham.
Arad currently teaches at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...
in Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, and at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park is a suburban municipality in Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. As of 2009, the population is 33,492. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located on the North Shore of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.-Overview:Highland Park was founded...
as well as the Domaine Forget
Domaine Forget
Domaine Forget is an international music festival as well as music and dance academy located near La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.-History:...
Music and Dance Academy in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Previously he was Professor of Viola at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. He has also taught at the Shepherd School of Music
Shepherd School of Music
The Shepherd School of Music is a university school of music located on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Shepherd School is itself very selective, accepting overall about 10-15% of all graduate applicants and 15% of all undergraduate applicants...
at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston, TX and has been an artist/lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to 1980 he served on faculties at Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth and the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
, Manchester, England.
Education and Early Years
Arad began his training on the violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in his home city of Tel Aviv, Israel and received an Artist Diploma in 1966 from the Samuel Rubin Israeli Academy of Music. In 1968 he was selected for study at Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo is a Walloon municipality located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. On December 31, 2009, Waterloo had a total population of 29,573. The total area is 21.03 km² which gives a population density of 1,407 inhabitants per km²...
, earning a Laureate there in 1971 and a Diplome Superieure from Brussels Conservatory in 1973.
Having decided to devote himself to the viola in 1971, he entered the Carl Flesch International Competition in 1972 as a violist, winning the City of London prize in his first public appearance with the instrument. Two months later he repeated, winning first prize in the International Viola Competition in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
.
He began a career in Europe as a soloist with major orchestras and a featured player at prestigious festivals.
Performance Venues
He has performed at numerous festivals including:- Berlin Music Festival, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - Israel FestivalIsrael FestivalThe Israel Festival is a multidisciplinary arts festival held every spring in Israel. Its center is Jerusalem.The Israel Festival started in 1961 as a summer festival for classical music in the ancient Roman theater in Caesarea...
, Caesarea, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... - Flanders Music Festival, Antwerp, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
- Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh FestivalThe Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... - Salzburg FestivalSalzburg FestivalThe Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
, SalzburgSalzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... - Mostly Mozart Festival, New York City, NY, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Sitka Summer Music FestivalSitka Summer Music FestivalThe Sitka Summer Music Festival is a month-long classical chamber music festival in the community of Sitka, Alaska.-About:The festival takes place in early summer during the month of June with three groupings of musicians...
, Sitka, Alaska, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, ColoradoAspen, ColoradoThe City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - Chautauqua Festival, Chautauqua, New YorkChautauqua, New YorkChautauqua is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, U.S. . The population was 4,666 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Chautauqua Lake. The traditional meaning remains 'bag tied in the middle'...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - Ravinia Festival near Chicago, Illinois, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Domaine ForgetDomaine ForgetDomaine Forget is an international music festival as well as music and dance academy located near La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.-History:...
International Festival, Saint-Irenee, QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Compositions and Recordings
His compositions include:- Sonata for Viola Solo (1992)
- String Quartet (1993)
- Caprices for Viola Solo (2003)
- Concerto per la Viola (2005)
His essays have explored compositional aspects of viola concertos:
- The Thirteen Pages (The American String Teacher, Winter 1988)
- Walton as Scapino (The Strad, February 1989)
His has recorded as featured soloist or with the Cleveland Quartet on the RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
Red Seal, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Masterworks, Teldec
Teldec
The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
Telefunken, Telarc and RIAX Records Classical labels.
Family History
Arad and his brother, architect Ron AradRon Arad (industrial designer)
Ron Arad is an Israeli industrial designer, artist, and architect.-Biography:Arad attended the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem between 1971–73 and the Architectural Association in London from 1974–79...
, were born in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.