Ido was born in Givatayim and lives there to this day; he attended Shim'oni elementary school followed by the Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts
"I encountered music quite early in my life; though I did not start to play at the age of three therefore I do not think I was "Wunderkind' as some newspapers describe me, especially in Switzerland, the first foreign country in which I performed. However, there was an electric organ with two keyboards and some pedals in my home, so I had some interaction with music"
He tells an amusing anecdote to indicate that already as a young child he was very independent and determined: "When I was six, during my first elementary school days, my mom got a phone call from the school secretary. She was scared something had happened, but the secretary reassured her I was safe and sound and reported that I had enrolled in an afternoon electric piano class, and simply needed a parental approval. It was fun of course, as a game, but far from professional"
Ido attended the class for three years and at the age of ten began studying at the Givatayim conservatory with Mrs. Ganit Polin. As a senior high school student he played solo with the school's orchestra, performing the Mendelssohn g minor piano concerto in a tour in France and Israel
He has performed in major festivals around the world including the Lucerne Festival, the Oxford Music Festival, the AMG Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft in Basel and more. Over the years he has worked with world-class pianists including Boris Berezovsky, Christoph Eschenbach and Menahem Pressler. For the past four years he has been a student of Prof. Arie Vardi, Israel Prize laureate
"I have a few compositions and a few hundred unfinished sketches that I am currently keeping to myself, but I cannot say that I am a composer. I do not limit myself to one style or another. In the past I played the organ and the recorder in an early music ensemble, we played mostly Medieval and Renaissance music. As a pianist I play music written from the early Baroque period to the middle of the 20th century. Nevertheless, if there is something interesting being composed these days, why not play it?"
The International Piano Competition City of Vigo Nelson Freire edition held online was broadcast live worldwide. More than 300 musicians from all over the world applied; 67 were accepted for the first stage, 26 for the second stage and 11 got to the finals. The judging panel included the legendary pianist Martha Argerich as head of the panel, among the international pianists Pablo Galdo and Sergio Tiempo. "I have adored Martha ever since I heard her play" he adds, "I regard highly everything she does musically and hold her in the greatest esteem. Her Art truly belongs to the future".
"We know past cultures mostly based upon the art they created and less on the basis of their wars. For more than 8 months now, the cultural life in Israel has been in a state of coma, a phenomenon we never experienced before, not even during bitter wars.
I had the honor of taking part in this competition and winning it as the only Israeli, especially because it was the only competition that has taken place so far (to my knowledge) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The opportunity a group of people have to spend time together and feel elated and transformed after attending a live meaningful concert, a live theater show, a movie screening in a real cinema hall does not exist at the moment. This definitely bothers me, and it has certainly changed the lives of millions.
In La Peste, Albert Camus writes about a city struck by the bubonic plague, locked down completely and, as a result, separating between families, lovers and relatives. When the plague ends and the city reopens, the man torn apart from his beloved discovers that he is no longer the same person he used to be.
We might experience a similar change. In order to bridge the gaps between who we were and who we have become during the pandemic, we need to find creative ways to stay together, share experiences, dreams and difficulties".
"I believe with all my heart that it is very important that every child be given the opportunity to play an instrument and be exposed to classical music from an early age. I hope all decision makers (governments, schools) make instrument and music studies mandatory and an intrinsic part of the curriculum. Aside from tremendous self-discovery and personal growth, every child who plays an instrument or sings learns that repeating a certain pattern (properly) improves it, and this applies to every area of life"
Ode / Arthur O'Shaughnessy
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; —
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems
the article was published in Journal vol 74
click on the links:
הצטרפו גם אתם לאלפים שכבר מנויים,
עשו מנוי למגזינים הכי מעניינים, ובחינם!
הצטרפו גם אתם לאלפים שכבר מנויים,
עשו מנוי למגזינים הכי מעניינים, ובחינם!
