SHORT BIOGRAPHY"Ishay Shaer’s playing is a revelation in velvet sonority.... an impressive homogeneity of sound in all registers.... the music is borne along by itself, played outside of time or space.... an irreproachable technique, suppleness, intensity, and a sense of dynamics.... an interpreter who stands in a class by himself"
Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde, France, 2018
"Young Israeli pianist Ishay Shaer, violinist Liza Ferschtman and cellist Quirine Viersen held the audience spellbound in an almost hypnotic trance. The listeners were so enthralled that they even forgot to cough! Could they have been witness to the birth of a new piano trio?" (this February Festival concert in The Hague was chosen by NRC as one of the very best chamber music performances of 2017 in the Netherlands)
Joost Galema, NRC, The Netherlands, 2017
Having performed in numerous concerts throughout the world to great critical acclaim, Ishay Shaer is quickly becoming one of the leading pianists of his generation.
His performances include, among others, recitals at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, UK; Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, USA; Sala Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Teatro Solís, Uruguay. He has taken part in musical events such as Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse (France), Montreal Bach Festival, Gdansk Music Festival, Dr Anton Philipszaal piano series and Kamermuziek Souvenir (Netherlands), Sociedad Filarmónica de Lima and Fundación Beethoven (Chile). In addition, he has performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile.
In November 2017, Shaer released an album dedicated to late works by Beethoven, with the British label Orchid Classics. The album was highly praised in music magazines such as the BBC Music Magazine and Codalario Magazine, where the critic wrote: "Fortunately for us, [Shaer] pursues the individuality of his sound and looks for his own interpretative lines … an interpreter attentive to details, who has a very careful sound and shows a wonderful understanding of the musical discourse ... This is an essential recording on the shelf of any music lover."
In recent years Ishay Shaer has established himself as a reputable chamber music performer. He has played with Mischa Maisky, Quirine Viersen, Liza Ferschtman, Antje Weithaas, Simone Lamsma, Bennewitz Quartet, Aviv Quartet, Quatuor Van Kuijk, Klenke Quartet and Simply Quartet. In October 2020 he made a very successful début with the Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse, perfoming Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto, under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev.
Ishay Shaer's concerts in 2022/23 include solo recitals in the Netherlands, France, Israel and Canada. In addition to this, he will participate in chamber music concerts at the annual Februari Festival in The Hague as well as in Belgium, Israel, the UK and Canada.
LISTEN
III Scarbo
Bagatelles Op. 126, Nos. 2-4
RELATED NEWS
The third edition of the Februari Festival will be launched in The Hague’s Nieuwe Kerk on Wednesday, 12 February 2020. The very successful 2018 and 2019 editions focused on Mendelssohn, Schumann and...
"Ishay Shaer’s playing is a revelation in velvet sonority.... an impressive homogeneity of sound in all registers.... the music is borne along by itself, played outside of time or space.... an irreproachable technique, suppleness, intensity, and a sense of dynamics.... an interpreter who stands in a class by himself"
Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde, France, 2018
"Young Israeli pianist Ishay Shaer, violinist Liza Ferschtman and cellist Quirine Viersen held the audience spellbound in an almost hypnotic trance. The listeners were so enthralled that they even forgot to cough! Could they have been witness to the birth of a new piano trio?" (this February Festival concert in The Hague was chosen by NRC as one of the very best chamber music performances of 2017 in the Netherlands)
Joost Galema, NRC, The Netherlands, 2017
"The sublime execution of Schumann’s Etudes Symphoniques was the hallmark of a truly all-round pianist ... a wonderful example of surprisingly calm pianistics ... a remarkable recital, deeply-warmdark-red, full of suppressed passion and deeply rooted tradition. Reminds one of Murray Perahia,
poet among pianists."
Audience members, after his début recital at Kamermuziek Souvenir, Tilburg, the Netherlands, 2015
Having performed in numerous concerts throughout the world to great critical acclaim, Ishay Shaer is quickly becoming one of the leading pianists of his generation.
His performances include, among others, recitals at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, UK; Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Poland; deSingel, Belgium; Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, USA; Sala Sinfonica Pablo Casals in Puerto Rico, Sala Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Teatro Solís, Uruguay.
He has taken part in musical events such as Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse (France), Montreal Bach Festival, Gdansk Music Festival, Swansea Festival of Music and Arts, Dr Anton Philipszaal piano series and Kamermuziek Souvenir (Netherlands), Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Sociedad Filarmónica de Lima, Semanas Musicales de Frutillar, Fundación Beethoven (Chile) and Israel Festival. In addition, he has performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile and the McGill Chamber Orchestra of Montreal.
Ishay Shaer was awarded first prize in the 2006 Newport International Competition in the UK, and a year later won third prize in the "Silvio Bengalli" International Piano Competition in Italy. In his home country, he has received several awards, including the prestigious Clairmont prize. In 2009 he was a prizewinner at the International Beethoven Competition in Bonn.
Throughout the years, Shaer has been supported by esteemed organizations, such as the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Swiss Orpheum Foundation, being included in its promotion programme for young soloists. He began piano studies at the age of 7 with Mrs. Hanna Barzilai and later studied with Dr. Asaf Zohar. He studied at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music of Tel Aviv University (in cooperation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra) with Prof. Tomer Lev and Prof. Arie Vardi, and finished his Bachelor's degree with distinction. He was also instructed by renowned artists, such as Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Murray Perahia and Matti Raekallio.
In November 2017, Shaer released an album dedicated to late works by Beethoven, with the British label Orchid Classics. The album has been played in prominent radio stations, including BBC Radio 3, France Musique and WQXR (New York), and was highly praised in music magazines such as the BBC Music Magazine and Codalario Magazine, where the critic wrote: "Fortunately for us, [Shaer] pursues the individuality of his sound and looks for his own interpretative lines … an interpreter attentive to details, who has a very careful sound and shows a wonderful understanding of the musical discourse ... This is an essential recording on the shelf of any music lover."
In recent years Ishay Shaer has established himself as a reputable chamber music performer. He has played with Mischa Maisky, Quirine Viersen, Liza Ferschtman, Antje Weithaas, Simone Lamsma, Carducci Quartet, Bennewitz Quartet, Aviv Quartet, Quatuor Van Kuijk and Simply Quartet. His arrangement for piano trio of Beethoven's 'The Tempest' piano sonata has garnered praise and was described as "an immeasurably pleasing masterwork… sounded like one of Beethoven's finest trios" by Haaretz newspaper.
In October 2020 he made a very successful début with the Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse, perfoming Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev.
Ishay Shaer's concerts in 2022/23 include solo recitals in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Israel and Canada. In addition to this, he participated in chamber music concerts at the annual Februari Festival in The Hague as well as in Belgium, Israel, the UK and Canada.
Please visit Ishay Shaer's website for:
Programme I
Beethoven: Eleven Bagatelles, Op. 119
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Schubert: Sonata in A major, D. 959
Programme II
Chopin: Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
Beethoven: Andante favori in F major, WoO 57
Heller: 21 Variations on a theme of Beethoven, Op. 133
Prokofiev: Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82
Programme III
Debussy: Images, book 2
Chopin: Preludes Op. 28, Nos. 15-24
Beethoven: Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier'
Programme IV
Beethoven: Six Bagatelles, Op. 126
Debussy: Images, book 2
Berlioz/Liszt: Un bal from Symphonie Fantastique
Schumann: Etudes Symphoniques, Op. 13
Programme V
Beethoven: Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 - Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109
Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op. 28
Programme VI
Bach: Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828
Beethoven: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109
Chopin: Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54
Prokofiev: Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82
Programme VII
Scriabin: Sonata No. 4 in F sharp major, Op. 30
Chopin: Preludes op. 28, Nos. 15-24
Rachmaninov: Variations on a theme of Chopin, Op. 22 - 10 Preludes, Op. 23
General ManagementSquire Artists - Roelof Jonker
Colombiahof 35, 2622 AD Delft, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 15 8899331
Mobile: +31 6 41313488
E-mail: office
sqar.nl
Website: www.sqar.nl
Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier et Emilie Munera, FRANCE MUSIQUE Radio: "Programme audacieux et risqué... Mais ce jeune homme n'a pas à rougir; le résultat est bien plus que convainquant".
Herbert Hiess, EVOLVER magazine, Austria: "Shaer shows impressive musicality and maturity for these musically extraordinarily difficult works. At just under 35, he interprets them in a way that pianists usually do not demonstrate until the end of their musical lives. Unconditional recommendation!" (5 stars)
Hugo Papbst, ClassiqueNews, France: "Aucun doute, Ishay Shaer a beaucoup de choses à nous dire sur la question de Beethoven. Sa compréhension du compositeur, sa retenue très riche en intentions retient immédiatement I'attention et nourrit I'écoute... Ishay Shaer appartient à la génération nouvelle de pianistes au tempérament mûr, très inspiré par le répertorie défendu... A suivre évidemment".
Annie Bergen, WQXR radio, New York: "Insightful performance"
Alex Baran, The WholeNote magazine, Canada: "[An] exceptional and sensitive performance... He plays from inside the works with profound affection... Shaer never misses the chance to explore a little deeper".
Steve Moffat, Limelight magazine, Australia: "Shaer exploits shifting moods and technical challenges with all the aplomb you would expect of a young pianist who has been mentored by the likes of Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim and Murray Perahia...This mature and authoritative collection of late Beethoven - should do a lot to put him on the international radar". (4,5 stars)
Jed Distler, Classics Today Magazine, US: "A most distinctive release" (Artistic Quality: 9/10. Sound Quality: 9/10)
BBC Music Magazine, UK: "An accomplished and thoughtful debut" (4,5 stars)
Klassik am Sonntag, Germany: „Hier ist ein Pianist zu hören, der mit Sensibilität, Geschmack und Noblesse spielt. Der Farben aus einer reichen Palette mischt, Stimmen mit Kalkül führt und dem Hörer lauter kleine Kunstwerke präsentiert.“
Aart van der Wal, OpusKIassiek magazine, The Netherlands: "This young Israeli pianist is an eminent performer of Beethoven's music ... hearing Shaer at work on these pieces is like a breath of fresh air".
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 - No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 - Bagatelles, Op. 119 & Op. 126
Orchid Classics ORC100076 • 76' •
Recording: July 2015, Concert Hall, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth (UK)
General Management
