Photographer: Yoel Levy ©️
About
The preeminent Israeli pianist Michal Tal enjoys a busy and versatile international career, performing throughout to great acclaim. She presents at her concerts "A breathtaking performance" (Tel Aviv) and "Imaginative fingers" (London).
Her numerous performances include recitals, performances with orchestra and chamber music as well as lecture concerts. She is also invited frequently to teach and give masterclasses as well as invitations to judge in national and international piano competitions, such as The Tchaikovsky conservatory (Moscow), the Beijing Conservatory, the HKAPA (Hong Kong), Ecole Normal (Paris), the Birmingham Royal Conservatory, The Euro Arts festival (Halle, Germany), The university of New York, The Boston Conservatory, The New England Conservatory, Montclair university, the Primavera Pianistica piano festival, the Chethams piano festival, the piano festival in Tirana, UK Trinity Music And Dance international competition, The Zhongsin international music competition and the Musicfest Perugia Festival.
Recent performances include the Clara Schumann concerto for her 200 anniversary with the Jerusalem Camerata and a series with the Raanana Symphonette. Performances through the 2022 season included Beethoven and Mozart Concertos with the Jerusalem Symphony .
She performed at Carnegie Recital Hall, The Tanglewood Festival, Lincoln Center "Focus" Festival, KÖLN Festival, The piano Festival in Gulangyu, Bangkok, Helsinki, Lubliana, Stockholm, The Israel Festival, The Felicia Blumental Festival, The Cerdanya music Festival, The Israel Festival and The Kefar Blum Chamber Music Festival. As an avid chamber musician Michal Tal founded The Israeli Music Chamber Club, and today a member of The Alexander Trio with Nitay Zori and Ella Toovy.
Michal Tal was born in Tel Aviv and started her piano lessons when she was five years old. At the age of sixteen she performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then she had performed with all the leading orchestras in Israel, Europe and the U.S. such as the Virginia and Dallas Symphonies, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, the Munster Symphony and the Dutch Radio Orchestra. She played under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, Eduardo Mata and Luciano Berio.
Tal's huge repertoire expands from Haydn to Ligeti and Berio, along with numerous premieres by Israeli composers. She performed the Berio concerto no. 2 "Echoing curves" with the Strasbourg Philharmonic , and the Ligeti concerto with the 21 century ensemble. Among Tal's discography are "Great Short Masterpieces for Piano" (ROMEO) "Erwin Schulhoff Music for Piano Solo" (CENTAUR) and the new album GEMS.
Michal Tal is the prize winner of many competitions such as the first prize at the international competition in Dallas, the Jerusalem Symphony Competition first prize, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the ministry of education and culture prize, and the prestigious Rosenblum Prize for the performing arts.
Michal Tal studied at The Tel Aviv Academy of music, Indiana University, The Juilliard School and State University of New York in Stony Brook. She studied with Prof. Arie Vardi, Richard Goode, and Gilbert Kalish. Among her coaches were Leon Fleischer, Peter Serkin, Julius Levinne, Janos Starker, and Joel Krosnick. She received her PHD at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem under the supervision of Prof. Jehoash Hirshberg.
Dr. Michal Tal is on the faculty of the Buchmann-Mehta School of music, and was the artistic director of The Outstanding Young Piano program at the Jerusalem Music Centre . Her outstanding students are winners of national and international competitions . Founder of EPTA Israel . Tal is the founder and Artistic director of PianoFest Arad.
