welcome release ... outstanding lyric quality ... Through the richness of his tone, superior vibrato usage, expressiveness of phrasing and top-drawer facility, he fulfills his potential in striking fashion. It is a treat to hear such tonally satisfying violin playing when commonplace sound, even among accomplished artists, is so prevalent" - The Strad Magazine"Shaham's approach achieves and ideal balance between expressive colouring ... and collaborative restraint. Hagai Shaham inhabits the same stylistic world as his great forebearers. He obviously respects past masters, and yet his playing eschews specific imitation (in his handling of those pieces recorded by Heifetz, Elman, Kaufman and others)" - Gramophone Magazine'' About half of Joseph Achron's compositions (over 100 total) were unpublished in his lifetime (1886–1943). By sheer luck the manuscripts have been saved from disposal and arrived in the Hebrew University (see more in the CD's elaborated notes, in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish). Teaching Combined with his career as a performer Hagai Shaham teaches violin playing and conducts master classes, primarily in Israel and Europe. He was a faculty member of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. In 2007, he joined the music faculty at the renowned Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California (USC; where Jascha Heifetz has taught violin playing). Since 2009 he has been a professor at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music (formerly the Samuel Rubin Israel Academy of Music), in the Faculty of Arts at Tel Aviv University. He is currently teaching at Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY. In the summer months, he teaches at the Heifetz International Music Institute in Staunton, VA. Shaham is online Master Teacher at iClassical Academy with whom he has recorded several online Masterclasses. Awards In September 1990, Hagai Shaham and his duo partner Arnon Erez won the first prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in the Violin-Piano duo category, the first competitors to be awarded this coveted first prize since 1971. His other awards include first prizes at the Ilona Kornhouser competition, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority Young Artist competition, The Tel-Aviv Rubin Academy competition, four Clairmont Awards, and annual scholarship from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation. More Hagai Shaham is a co-founder of the Ilona Feher Foundation. He is married and has three children. Mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham is his sister. References External links Piano: Arnon Erez. Piano: Arnon Erez. Israeli classical violinists Male classical violinists Jewish classical