Vita

      „After listening to the beautiful playing of the cellist Ithay Khen I am convinced that his sensitive and                accomplished playing places him in the highest rank of cellists.”  Bernard Greenhouse (Beaux Arts Trio)

Ithay Khen was born in Israel. He received his first lesson from his father Uri Khen. At age 16, he joined the cello class of Prof. Uzi Wiesel at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv.

He then moved to the Academy of Arts in Berlin with Prof. Wolfgang Boettcher. He was taught by Prof. Joseph Schwab at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin where he graduated with an honourable distinction with his final concert exam.

Ithay Khen received the Clermont-Award as the best young Israeli cellist along with first prize at the cello and chamber music competition, Rubin Academy Tel Aviv.  Towards the end of his studies, he was a scholarship holder at the Herbert von Karajan Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra which included numerous concerts and concert tours. Since then he has often played in chamber music ensembles with members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

From 1996 to 1997 he held a position as a solo cellist of the Royal Philharmonic Antwerp before becoming the first solo cellist of the Nuremberg Opera.

Ithay Khen won great success playing the Cello Concert from Jacques Ibert at the International Festival in Bayreuth 1989, where his international career began. There followed prestigious festivals such as Dresden Music Festival, the Salzburg Music Festival, and the International Music Burgos Festival, the Upper Galilee Chamber Music Festival Kfar Blum, the Glukholazy Music Festival Poland and the Euro-Nippon Festival in Belgium.

He performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras such as the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Antwerp, the Marienbad Festival Orchestra, the Arta Viva Sorbonne, the Orchestra of the Theatre Trier, the German Chamber Orchestra of Berlin and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. Touring as soloist also led him to Japan, the United States, Israel, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Poland.

During his career, many contemporary works were premiered, of which some were written especially for him. Besides numerous television productions from ARD, ZDF, NDR and the Israeli and Swedish television, Ithay Khen also worked on countless radio recordings of RBB Kulturradio, Deutschlandradio and classical radio Kol HaMusika Israel. His CD recordings include the two Brahms Sextets, chamber music by Boris Blacher, the cello concert and chamber music of the Israeli composer Shimon Knol as well as many CD’s with romantic and contemporary works for cello and piano.

Ithay Khen worked world wide as a lecturer teaching at master courses such as the International Summer Festival of the Rubin Academy / Jerusalem, the International Festival of Burgos/ Spain, the Summer Music Festival Glukholazy / Poland, Euro-Nippon Alden Biesen/ Belgium, and the Winter Academy Castle Kröchlendorff / Germany.