Informations
Facts
Born in Jerusalem, Israel
Member since 01.09.2010
Biography
Amihai Grosz plays one of the rare violas from the famous school of Gasparo de Salò, which differs from the brighter tonal ideal of Vivaldi and Guaneri: “The sound”, says the long-time first principal viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker, “is more down-to-earth, woodier and of course wonderfully rich in overtones. But the timbre is a little darker. With deeper instruments like cello, viola and probably also double bass, it sounds much nicer”.
Grosz, who switched from violin to viola at the age of eleven, studied under David Chen at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, under Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, and under Haim Taub at the Keshet Eilon Music Center. He received various scholarships and prizes early on, was a member of the Young Musicians Group of the Jerusalem Music Center, and played for many years in the famous Jerusalem Quartet.
In 2010, Grosz then became a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker, which was a leap into the unknown: “I didn’t know what it would be like, I hadn’t been in any other orchestra before. And now to bring this wonderful music to life, with this strong sense of community – it’s magical. I am proud to be part of this orchestra. Because it's like an incredible force of nature.” In addition, Amihai Grosz is a sought-after soloist – not only with the Berliner Philharmoniker – and has worked with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tugan Sokhiev, Klaus Mäkelä, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle.
Awards
Gottesman-Prize, Aviv-Competition in Jerusalem (2007)
First Prize, Brown-Roger-Siegel Competition (1996)
Ensembles of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Behind the music: Amihai Grosz
Video portrait
On the 2019 tour of Japan, solo viola Amihai Grosz talks about his “role” in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote.
