Matan Porat

One of the few musicians who successfully manage both professions in the highest level, Israel-born pianist and composer, Matan Porat has appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and with all major Symphony and Chamber Orchestras in Israel and has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, the Barbican in London, and Alhambra’s Palacio Carlos V.

An avid chamber music player, Porat has participated in many distinguished festivals, including Marlboro, Ravinia, Verbier, Salzburg, Bath, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, and upon invitation of Daniel Barenboim in the West-Eastern Divan workshops. Other chamber appearances include performances with the Ysaÿe and Jerusalem Quartets, Dorothea Röchmann, Kim Kashkashian, Emmanuel Pahud and members of the Guarneri Quartet.

His varied concert program includes Bach’s Goldberg Variations and 6 partitas, and the two monumental Ives sonatas. A passionate contemporary music performer, Porat has premiered works by Matthias Pintscher, Philippe Schoeller, Gideon Lewensohn, among others.
In the 2010-1 season Porat has toured the world with Peter Brook’s new production of Mozart’s Magic Flute, in a version for piano solo and 7 singers.

Porat has begun his piano studies with Emanuel Krasovsky at the Tel-Aviv Rubin Academy.
Later he was artist-in-residence in Belgais, Portugal, studying and assisting Maria João Pires, and obtained his Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. In 2006-8 Porat lived in London, working extensively with Murray Perahia.

Winner of the 2009 Prime Minister Award for composers, Porat has studied composition with Ruben Seroussi and George Benjamin. His works were commissioned by Maria João Pires,
Kim Kashkashian, Elena Bashkirova and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, the AICF’s Spring Competitions and others, and were premiered at the Montpellier, Schleswig-Holstein and Menuhin Gstaad festivals to general acclaim. David Orlowsky’s CD featuring his work “Lux Aeterna” has won the ECHO award in 2011. David Greilsammer has recorded his piece “Whaam!” for SONY label to be released in 2012. Among his performed pieces are an opera, “Animal Farm”, a Requiem, a mandolin concerto, a music theatre trilogy for an actor and ensemble based on stories by Kafka, Orwell and Thomas Mann and many chamber music works.

Porat is currently living and working in Berlin. Besides his concerts and commissions, he is also playing live music for silent movies, described by Alex Ross of the “New Yorker” as an “astounding feat of creative musicianship”.