NATIONALITY:

Israeli - American

Media Applause

“Can do almost anything with tone.”

— The New York Times

What is a piece of music you return to when you need to remember why you became a musician?

I tend to go back to the pieces that say a lot with very little. If I had to name one piece, Mozart’s C major String Quintet. It has that rare ability to make time feel suspended. Every time I hear it, I’m reminded that music can be both utterly simple, and completely transcendent.

What is a work of art that you think more people should know about and why?

I’d say the short stories and essays of David Foster Wallace. His longer books, especially Infinite Jest, tend to loom largest, but the shorter pieces often feel like the most concentrated version of what made him so singular: brilliant, funny, restless, and surprisingly tender.

How do you unwind after a performance?

Doesn’t have to be a great meal, but after a performance, I almost never want silence or sleep right away. There’s usually too much adrenaline still flying around. So my ideal unwinding is a late meal, a beer or a glass of wine, and some good conversation.

What is a place in the world that has changed the way you think about sound?

I don’t think it’s just one place. Being in big European cities helps you understand a lot of the music written there: you feel the energy of the place, and the sound of the language. But some composers feel deeply connected to landscape. Schubert, to me, belongs with the countryside, Mahler with the mountains. Places don’t explain music completely, but they do help you hear it differently.

What is something you’ve learned to do in the last five years that has nothing to do with the piano?

I’ve become a much more serious cook than I used to be. That doesn’t necessarily mean more elaborate food — often it means the opposite. I think I’ve gotten better at making something simple that’s special.