To paraphrase The New York Times – the words “superstar” and “mandolinist” have not traditionally been seen together in the same sentence. However that has changed thanks to Avi Avital. He’s the first mandolin soloist to be nominated for a classical Grammy Award and is a driving force behind the reinvigoration of the mandolin repertoire. Over 100 compositions have been written especially for him, including 15 concertos. He’s played in all corners of the world, and has released 5 albums plus an EP on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Avi talks about his remarkable journey with the mandolin, from his early lessons in southern Israel from a teacher who was self-taught on the instrument, to having the chutzpah to dig into his own savings to record his first album in Berlin. He introduces a number of works that he especially wanted to share for this conversation, including a performance from one of his mentors, which is not available in Australia.

He is currently touring Australia with Musica Viva.

Photo: Guy Hecht