Benjamin Rawitz Piano         Discography   B 108 031 From Schumann to Gershwin, violin music CD     Click on the title of the recording to get further information.		BIOGRAPHY The pianist Benjamin Rawitz was born in Haifa, Israel. He received his first music lessons at the age of six years, and gave his first concert when he was ten. After graduating from the Conservatorium there, he continued his studies, first at the Rubin Academy of Tel-Aviv University, and then at the Royal Brussels Conservatorium, finishing at the Geneva Conservatorium receiving the "Diplôme Supérieur", with distinction and the "Prix de Virtuosité". His teachers were, inter alios Ilona Vincze, Eduardo del Pueyo, Peter Feuchtwanger and Louis Hiltbrand. At the age of fourteen he made his first appearance as a soloist with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra under Sergiu Commissiona. Receiving the Albéniz prize at the Barcelona International Piano Competition and first prize at the Geneva Beethoven Duo-competition, he was also awarded by Geza Anda the coveted Mozart prize in Zurich. He was an official course accompanist for the celebrated virtuoso Nathan Milstein, and has made regular guest appearances as a soloist and in chamber music in the United States, Japan, Europe and the Near East, in major venues and Festivals. He played sonatas with Janos Maté for a period spanning thirty years, and has made numerous CD recordings with him. († 29. August 2006)