Ran Dank
Encyclopedia
Ran Dank is an Israeli classical pianist, who currently lives in New York
, USA.
. In the years 2000-2003 Dank has served under a special musician status in the Israeli Defense Forces
.
From 2004 to 2005, Dank attended the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv
, where he received his B.A.
in music, studying with Professor Emanuel Krasovsky.
In 2005-07, Dank left his native Israel
for the first time, to study at the Juilliard School
in New York. Under the tutelage of Professors Emanuel Ax
and Joseph Kalichstein
, he was awarded his M.M degree in 2007.
In 2009 Dank graduated from the Juilliard School with an Artist Diploma degree, studying with Robert McDonald.
, Steinway Hall
, Alice Tully Hall
, and the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in New York, Severance Hall
in Cleveland, OH, the Glazunov Hall in Saint Petersburg
, and the Sydney Opera House
in Sydney, Australia.
Dank has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra
, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
, the Juilliard School Orchestra, the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the Rishon Lezion Symphonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphonic Orchestra, and the Raanana Symphony Orchestra, amongst others.
Dank has taken part in numerous festivals, such as the Chopin Festival in Warsaw
and Żelazowa Wola
, performing works by Chopin
and Liszt
, and the Israel Festival
with a complete Scriabin
sonata cycle. He also played a variety of programs combining some piano rarities at the Mäntta Festival for Virtuoso Pianists, in Finland.
scholarship since 1992, and a special Scholarship for Studies Abroad. Prizes in competitions in Israel include the Voice of Music Competition, and first prize, the Rafi Goralnik Award, at the Aviv Competitions in 2002. This is considered the most important competition for musicians in Israel.
In 2006 Dank won the Gina Bachauer
competition held at The Juilliard School, and in 2007 he was the recipient of both the Arthur Rubinstein
Prize and the 4th prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition
. In March 2008 Dank was awarded the grand prize of $15,000 and gold medal at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition
, resulting in different engagements including his debut recital in Carnegie Hall
in the fall of 2008. In August 2008 Dank was awarded with the third prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition
including special awards by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
for the best performance of the two concertos in the final, and awards for the best performance of a work by Debussy
and a work by Rachmaninov
.
Most recently, Dank joined the roster of Young Concert Artists as a winner of the 2009 International Auditions.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA.
Early life
Dank started playing the piano at the age of seven with Yaakov Krantz. He went on to work with Liora Peleg at the Givaataim Conservatory, and from 1994 until 2002 he studied with Professor Vadim Monastirsky of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and DanceJerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance , founded in 1958 as the Rubin Academy of Music, is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-History:...
. In the years 2000-2003 Dank has served under a special musician status in the Israeli Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
.
From 2004 to 2005, Dank attended the Rubin Academy of Music 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...
, where he received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in music, studying with Professor Emanuel Krasovsky.
In 2005-07, Dank left his native Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
for the first time, to study at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York. Under the tutelage of Professors Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
and Joseph Kalichstein
Joseph Kalichstein
Joseph Kalichstein is a renowned Israeli-born American classical pianist who performs in the concerto, solo recital and chamber music repertoire, the latter mainly with Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson in the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio...
, he was awarded his M.M degree in 2007.
In 2009 Dank graduated from the Juilliard School with an Artist Diploma degree, studying with Robert McDonald.
Professional career
Dank has given recitals and concerts in the U.S.A, Belgium, Poland, France, England, Germany, Finland, Russia and Australia, performing at prominent venues such as the Lincoln CenterLincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Hamburg, Berlin,...
, Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
, and the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in New York, Severance Hall
Severance Hall
Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931...
in Cleveland, OH, the Glazunov Hall in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, and the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
in Sydney, Australia.
Dank has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
, the Juilliard School Orchestra, the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the Rishon Lezion Symphonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphonic Orchestra, and the Raanana Symphony Orchestra, amongst others.
Dank has taken part in numerous festivals, such as the Chopin Festival in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and Żelazowa Wola
Zelazowa Wola
Żelazowa Wola is a village in Gmina Sochaczew, Sochaczew County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies on the Utrata River, some northeast of Sochaczew and west of Warsaw. Żelazowa Wola has a population of 65....
, performing works by Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, and the Israel Festival
Israel Festival
The 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...
with a complete Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
sonata cycle. He also played a variety of programs combining some piano rarities at the Mäntta Festival for Virtuoso Pianists, in Finland.
Awards
Dank has won virtually every major prize available for a young musician in his own country. He has been a recipient of an America Israel Cultural FoundationAmerica Israel Cultural Foundation
The America Israel Cultural Foundation was established in 1939 to support the growth and development of Israel. Originally established as the American Fund for Palestinian Institutions, after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 the name was changed to the American Fund for Israeli...
scholarship since 1992, and a special Scholarship for Studies Abroad. Prizes in competitions in Israel include the Voice of Music Competition, and first prize, the Rafi Goralnik Award, at the Aviv Competitions in 2002. This is considered the most important competition for musicians in Israel.
In 2006 Dank won the Gina Bachauer
Gina Bachauer
Gina Bachauer , was a Greek classical pianist who toured extensively in the United States and Europe....
competition held at The Juilliard School, and in 2007 he was the recipient of both the Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
Prize and the 4th prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition
Cleveland International Piano Competition
The Cleveland International Piano Competition takes place biennially in Cleveland, Ohio. The initial Competition in 1975 and the nine others that followed were sponsored jointly by the Robert Casadesus Society and the Cleveland Institute of Music to honor the memory of French pianist Robert...
. In March 2008 Dank was awarded the grand prize of $15,000 and gold medal at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition
Hilton Head International Piano Competition
The Hilton Head International Piano Competition is an annual piano competition held since 1996 at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina's First Presbyterian Church.-Selected list of jurors:...
, resulting in different engagements including his debut recital in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in the fall of 2008. In August 2008 Dank was awarded with the third prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition
Sydney International Piano Competition
The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia is a music competition, presented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with the University of Sydney and broadcast live throughout Australia. It is held every four years, over a three-week period in July-August, and is...
including special awards by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
for the best performance of the two concertos in the final, and awards for the best performance of a work by Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
and a work by Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
.
Most recently, Dank joined the roster of Young Concert Artists as a winner of the 2009 International Auditions.
| date | award | awarded by | location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | first prize | Juilliard Gina Bachauer Gina Bachauer Gina Bachauer , was a Greek classical pianist who toured extensively in the United States and Europe.... International Piano Competition |
New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , New York, USA |
| 2007 | fourth prize | Cleveland International Piano Competition Cleveland International Piano Competition The Cleveland International Piano Competition takes place biennially in Cleveland, Ohio. The initial Competition in 1975 and the nine others that followed were sponsored jointly by the Robert Casadesus Society and the Cleveland Institute of Music to honor the memory of French pianist Robert... |
Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
| 2008 | third prize | Sydney International Piano Competition Sydney International Piano Competition The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia is a music competition, presented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with the University of Sydney and broadcast live throughout Australia. It is held every four years, over a three-week period in July-August, and is... |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , Australia |
| 2008 | first prize | Hilton Head International Piano Competition Hilton Head International Piano Competition The Hilton Head International Piano Competition is an annual piano competition held since 1996 at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina's First Presbyterian Church.-Selected list of jurors:... |
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a resort town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is north of Savannah, Georgia, and south of Charleston. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton... , USA |
| 2009 | first prize | Young Concert Artists International Auditions | New York City, New York, USA |
| 2010 | second prize ($4,000) | Naumburg International Piano Competition Naumburg International Piano Competition The Naumburg International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists, of ages 17 to 32, organized in New York City, USA since 1926. It is sponsored by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation... |
New York City, New York, USA |