The poet of the piano

Classically trained pianist Orit Wolf will take the stage at TA Museum this week in an exploration of the life and work of Frederic Chopin.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Ornili Azulay 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Ornili Azulay 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
This week, as part of the Thursdays Mornings With Orit Wolf: The Man Behind The Sounds series, the Tel Aviv Museum will host Wolf and dancer Ornili Azulay in an exploration of the life and work of Frederic Chopin. Held at the Recanati Hall, Wolf will play the piano and speak of Chopin’s experiences, stories and contribution to society. Though he lived a short life (he died at the age of 39), Chopin’s body of work is formidable.
Born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin in Poland, he is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and is lovingly referred to as the “poet of the piano.”
Wolf is an internationally recognized concert pianist, the founder of Trio International and honored guest of orchestras around the globe. Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Wolf left Israel as a teenager to study at Boston University. From there, she received a full scholarship to pursue a Masters degree at The Royal Academy of Music in London. She recently completed her doctorate at Bar Ilan University. Wolf is a seasoned lecturer, specializing both in music and creative thinking. She has released a number of albums, including versions of famous compositions as well as original materials. Thursday Mornings With Orit Wolf is the initiative of the Tel Aviv Museum, presenting ten two hour sessions devoted to major players in the realm of classical music.
ORNILI AZULAY is equally well known in Israel and abroad. Her choreography is a melding of classical Spanish dance, flamenco and contemporary movement. She is a powerful performer who blends together music, movement, text and spoken word.
She was trained in Tel Aviv, at Sylvia Duran’s Spanish Dance School, where she learned flamenco and classical dance. She went on to study and perform around Europe and in America, taking part in major productions by leaders in the flamenco field. She is, in addition, an award winning poet.
Azulay has danced alongside many a musician in her career. In fact, most of her performances include a live music element. She has broadened the musical spectrum normally thought of when considering Spanish dance considerably.
In 2008, she performed a series of concerts with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dan Ettinger. One year later, she was cast as the lead dancer in Nuria Castejon’s Carmen for the Los Angeles Opera.
Azulay has created several original shows, in which she explores her many talents. Peer Gynt is a concert drama performed to live music during which she recites excerpts from Ibsen’s text. In The Flame And The Frost- A Dialogue For A Dancer And An Orchestra, Azulay dances to compositions by Rimsky- Korsakov, Bizet, Ravel and many others.
This meeting between two strong, established female performers promises to be both enjoyable and educational.