Elisha Abas

Elisha Abas (Hebrew: אלישע אבס; born 1971) is an Israeli pianist, composer, and former professional football player.

Abas received his musical training from Israeli pianist and pedagogue Pnina Salzman and benefited from the mentorship of Artur Rubinstein. He performed interpretations of works by composers such as Chopin and Schumann.[1][2]

Life and career

Abas was born into a musical family. He is the great-great-grandson of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), via Ariadna Scriabina (1905–22 July 1944), Gilbert-Elizabeth "Betty" Knut-Lazarus (1926–1964), and his mother Ariane Abas (1950–). His father is the Israeli children's author Shlomo Abas (1948–).

Abas was a child prodigy who started performing at the age of six and has since shared the stage with Isaac Stern, Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta.[3][4] Abas achieved many accolades throughout his career.[5] Those most notable were achieved when he was a young prodigy, winning first place in the America Israel Cultural Foundation music competition for eight consecutive years and first place in the Claremont Piano Competition.

At age 14, he felt "burned out" as a musician and retired from the field.[4] He began pursuing a career as a professional football player. He played left back for several Israeli teams, first for Hapoel Petah Tikva under coach Avram Grant, then for Hapoel Kfar Saba and several other teams. As a result of an injury, he retired as a football player at the age of 28.

After retiring from football, Abas decided to try and return to playing piano. He contacted Salzman and began performing again. Today he continues to perform throughout the world, most recently in North America, Europe, Cuba, Russia, Israel, and China. Elisha Abas is also a composer. He rarely performs his original compositions in public; however, in 2009, Elisha performed his original music in St. Petersburg's Smolny Cathedral, United Nations Assembly Hall, and in Teatro Amadeo Roldán in Havana, Cuba.[6][7] In December 2009, Elisha Abas performed and recorded live the Brahms First Piano Concerto in Havana, Cuba, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, conducted by Yoel Gamzou.[8] In 2010, he recorded and released a live recording of the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 K. 488 with the International Mahler Orchestra in Berlin.[9][10][11][12][13] He is the co-founder of the Concert Meister Series in New York City.[14][15]

References
  1. "Suono il piano per conquistare i più giovani - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). 15 July 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. "Zubin Mehta Conducts Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Elisha Abas". YouTube. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  4. Wakin, Daniel J. (2 November 2007). "Elisha Abas – Music – New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  5. Franks, Tim (15 September 2008). "Middle East | Jerusalem Diary: Monday 15 September". BBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  6. "Suono il piano per conquistare i più giovani – Repubblica.it » Ricerca". Ricerca.repubblica.it. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  7. "New Music by Elisha Abas – New York Fantasy". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  8. "Rehearsal Footage – Elisha Abas & Yoel Gamzou with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  9. "Frédéric Chopin – Mazurka in B-Mol played by ELISHA ABAS". YouTube. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  10. "International Mahler Orchestra – Mozart Klavierkonzert A-Dur played by ELISHA ABAS (Allegro Assai)". YouTube. 26 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  11. "FOLIPRO Berlin". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  12. "Elisha Abas, Concert Pianist – Press". Elishaabas.com. 5 September 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Wakin, Daniel J. (1 November 2009). "Concert Meister Makes Use of Talent in Visiting Orchestras". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  15. "About Us - the Concert Meister Series". Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
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