Formed as a modular piano ensemble, MultiPiano is dedicated to the rich literature written for keyboard ensembles, from one piano with four hands to several pianos in a variety of multi-hand combinations. The MultiPiano project was launched in 2011 under the umbrella of the Buchmann–Mehta School of Music, a joint institution of Tel Aviv University and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Featuring some of Israel’s radiant young pianists and their mentor Tomer Lev, one of the country’s prominent musicians, the MultiPiano project attracted much international attention immediately upon its foundation. And in April 2021, the ensemble’s first commercial recording was released, by Hyperion Records, “Mozart: The complete multipiano concertos”, including the first-ever concertante completion, for two pianos and orchestra, of Mozart’s Larghetto and Allegro in E flat major (1781), alongside the English Chamber Orchestra.
The ensemble has performed on four continents, from the Beijing Concert Hall and Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón to New York’s Merkin Concert Hall and high-profile venues in London, Frankfurt, Riga and Tallinn, collaborating with world-class organizations such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mozarteum Argentino. The ensemble has performed at the Taipei, Xiamen, Ottawa, Baltic Sea, Hualien, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem music festivals, as well as on television and radio networks across the globe. In 2015, MultiPiano was awarded the Israeli Ministry of Culture prize for ‘Best Israeli Chamber Ensemble’.
The ensemble extensively toured the Far East in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015; South America in 2012 and 2014; North America in 2013; and routinely tours around Europe. Considerable collaboration with Israel’s prominent orchestras has led to rare and daring repertoire selections, such as the premiere of Frank Martin’s Petite symphonie concertante for three pianos (originally harp, harpsichord and piano) and two string orchestras with the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, the first professional performance of Mendelssohn’s newly discovered Duo concertant: Variations on Weber’s ‘Preciosa’ for two pianos and orchestra, WoO25 (the original 1833 version), with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra and Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, and the two-piano version of Chopin’s Rondo in C major, Op 73, with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, as well as concerto commissions by Israeli composers Aryeh Levanon and Oded Zehavi.
In 2014, MultiPiano collaborated with the English Chamber Orchestra on the recording of the complete Mozart multipiano concertos, and in the spring of 2017 recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concerto works by Poulenc, Shostakovich, Frank Martin and Aryeh Levanon. In 2018, the ensemble presented a new version of Holst’s The Planets for piano and percussion ensemble, celebrating the iconic work’s centennial in a special concert at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. This unique version was created by seven prominent Israeli composers especially for MultiPiano and Tremolo percussion ensemble.
Tomer Lev
Tomer Lev enjoys an intensive career of unusual diversity as concert pianist, lecturer and pedagogue. At the age of 37 he was appointed head of the Rubin Academy of Music at the Tel-Aviv University. Soon thereafter, with the collaboration of Maestro Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic, Prof. Lev was among the founders of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music and was appointed as its first director (2004-2009, 2015-present).
Tomer Lev was heard in such central venues as Lincoln Center in New York, Philharmonie Hall in Berlin, Beijin Concert Hall, Shanghai Municipal Theatre, Musikhalle in Hamburg, Rudolphinum in Prague, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Sala Sao Paulo, Glenn Gould Hall in Toronto and the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. He has performed in major international festivals, including Tanglewood, Norfolk, Prague Winter Festival, Madrid’s San-Isidro, Sofia Music Weeks, Varna Summer, and the Israel Festival, and has recorded for leading TV and radio stations in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Eastern Europe, South America and Israel.
Tomer Lev has collaborated with all major Israeli orchestras. His critically acclaimed debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta led to further collaboration with the IPO (including projects with Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Yoel Levi, Jerzy Semkow and others), as well as to performances with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Camerata, Beersheva Sinfonietta, and Haifa Symphony Orchestra.
As a member of the Israel Piano Trio, one of Israel’s leading chamber ensembles, Tomer Lev toured Europe and South America.
Berenika Glixman
Hailed by Maestro Zubin Mehta as “one of the greatest promises among the young generation of pianists today” and described by the press as a “hypnotic” performer, Berenika Glixman emerged as one of Israel’s leading young pianists.
Ms. Glixman was born in the Soviet Union in 1984 and immigrated to Israel in 1991. She has performed as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic, the Fort Worth Symphony at the Van Cliburn International Festival in Texas, Bucharest Philharmonic, Bulgarian National Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony under Zubin Mehta. In 2010, she was called to replace pianist Yuja Wang as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic at last-minute notice, performing Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto to critical and public acclaim for IPO’s subscription series in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. Following her success she was also invited to play Bartok’s Second Piano Concerto under Zubin Mehta in 2011.
She is a prize winner of the 2011 Arthur Rubinstein International Master Competition, 2008 Van Cliburn International Festival Concerto Competition, 2008 Israel Radio Young Artist Competition, and 2005 Isidor Bajic International Competition in Serbia.
Berenika Glixman completed her B. Mus. and M. Mus. degrees with distinction under Prof. Tomer Lev at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, where she is currently a faculty member. A recipient of America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarships since 1997, Ms. Glixman participated in master classes with leading artists, including Murray Perahia, Richard Goode, Emanuel Ax, Nikolai Petrov, Daniel Pollack, and Yefim Bronfman.
Nimrod Haftel-Meiri
Nimrod Haftel-Meiri was born in Israel in 1994 and started playing the piano at the age of five. He is a graduate of the Israel Conservatory of Music and the Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts with distinction, a member of the Young Musicians Unit of the Jerusalem Music Center founded by the late Isaac Stern and a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Nimrod won several prominent Israeli competitions including the Turgeman, Ashdod, Israel Radio Young Artists Competition and the Israel Conservatory competition. He attended master classes with Boris Berman, Andrzej Jasinski, Gyorgy Sava and the Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes, and has performed in numerous broadcasts for Israel Radio and at some of Israel`s most prestigious venues, such as Tel-Aviv Museum, Jerusalem Music Center, and Jaffa Music Center. Nimrod is now studying with Prof. Tomer Lev at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University.
In 2015, he was chosen to perform Mozart Concerto K. 242 with renowned American pianist Emanuel Ax in a concert with the Jerusalem Symphony under Frederic Chaslin, live broadcasted nation-wide.
Almog Segal
Almog Segal was born in Israel in 1995. He started his piano studies at the age of 11 with Luisa Yoffe at the “Sadna” Conservatory in Jerusalem, where he studied for 8 years.
In 2009, Almog joined the young musicians unit of the Jerusalem Music Center and the young pianists project of the Aldwell Center, both headed by pianist Murray Perahia. Within this frame he performed in several live broadcasted radio concerts, as well as in a concert for the Israel Festival.
During the years 2010-2013 Almog Segal studied at the Israeli High School for Arts & Sciences in Jerusalem. During these years he won several prestigious prizes and awards, including first prize at the 8th Chopin Competition in Tel Aviv, first prize at the “Piano Forever” national piano competition (Ashdod, 2012), distinction scholarship at the America-Israel Culture Foundation national auditions, the Marina Bondarenko Award and concerto competition prize at the Tel Hai International Piano Master-Classes (2013), and first prize at the Pnina Salzman Memorial Piano Competition (2015).
Outside of Israel, Almog performed at the Apple-Hill chamber music festival in New-Hampshire (US), the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado (US), Music Fest Perugia (Italy), the Hvide Sande festival in Denmark, and the Musica Mundi festival in Belgium, where he also performed in a radio concert of the European Broadcasting Authority, live broadcasted throughout Europe. In 2014, Almog was invited by the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition to be a jury member at the competition as part of their young jury project.
During the past years, Almog Segal has performed in many of Israel’s prominent concert halls, including the Henri Crown Symphony Hall in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Music Center Hall, and the Felicja Blumental Hall in Tel-Aviv, among others. Since 2014, Almog Segal has studied piano at Tel Aviv University’s Buchmann-Mehta school of Music with Prof. Tomer Lev, as well as composition with composer and conductor Israel Sharon.
Daniel Borovitzky
Daniel Borovitzky was born in 1991 in Samara, Russia, and emigrated with his family to Israel at the age of three. Daniel won international and national competitions, including a Grand Prix in the Piano Competition in Athens, Greece, and top prizes at the Youth Piano Competition in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Rigei Si (“Climactic Moments”) Piano Competition in Israel. In March 2012, he won the first prize at the Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition in Serbia. He has performed in concerts and festivals in the United States, South America, the Far East, Germany, Russia and Greece.
In February 2011, Daniel was chosen by Maestro Zubin Mehta to play under his baton as soloist with the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony Orchestra. His performance at Tel Aviv Mann Auditorium was hailed by the press for its “superb pianistic abilities and lively interpretation” (Globes). In August 2012, he was featured at a Gala concert of the Tel Hai International Piano Master Classes at Tel Aviv Museum, of which the critics wrote: “a star is born” (Ma’ariv).
Daniel performed with several other major orchestras including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Noam Sheriff, Israel Chamber Orchestra, and Tel Aviv Soloists. He is a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation since 2002. He began playing the piano at age of 7; among his teachers were Louisa Yoffe and Arnon Erez. He studied for his Bachelor degree with Prof. Tomer Lev at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University.
Alon Kariv
Since his early childhood, pianist Alon Kariv has won first prizes in all Israeli national piano competitions and has performed at the country`s most prestigious halls and series.
Alon performed as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta and others; as well as with the other major Israeli orchestras, including the Haifa Symphony, the Ashdod Symphony and the Ra'anana Symphonette. Internationally, Kariv has collaborated with the English Chamber Orchestra, the Slovenian Radio and Television Orchestra, and Perugia Festival Orchestra. In New York, he performed at Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall, and in Europe he has been heard in the UK, Holland, Italy and Slovenia.
In June 2015, Alon Kariv won the third prize at the International Piano Competition in New York City's Kaufman Center. In August 2015, he won first prize at the Tel Hai International Piano Master Classes competition; and in October 2016, he was a top candidate at the first Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition held in Beijing.
From 2010-2016, Kariv has been receiving a yearly scholarship of distinction from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation; in 2011, he was invited to perform in their festive gala concert in New York.
Born in 1999 in Israel, Alon Kariv studied at the Juilliard School with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Julian Martin; prior to his college studies, Alon studied at the Thelma Yelin High School For The Arts. He has been studying piano since the age of five, starting with Hanna Barzilay, until age 15, when he began studying with Prof. Tomer Lev at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. Kariv has participated in many master classes with some of the world`s greatest artists and pedagogues including Murray Perahia, Sergei Babayan, Arie Vardi, Alexander Korsantia, Tatiana Zelikman, Garrick Olssohn and others.