»Here is a musician who recognises no boundaries except those of good taste, and who has the artistry to persuade listeners to follow him anywhere«, commented Gramophone about Avi Avital's second CD, »Between Worlds«, released by DG. Born in Be'er Sheva in southern Israel in 1978, the son of Moroccan immigrants began playing the mandolin at the age of eight, graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and studied the historical mandolin repertoire with Ugo Orlandi at the Conservatorio Cesare Pollini in Padua. His openness to a wide variety of musical styles, from early music to experimental music, from classical to world music, and the inspiration of his mentor Giora Feidman, he brought the mandolin to a whole new level of popularity. Avi Avital has been actively shaping the future of his instrument for more than 20 years and has established it in the world's most prestigious concert halls. In the process, he has enriched the mandolin repertoire not only with his own transcriptions, but also with over 100 commissioned works.

Highlights of the 2023/24 season include concerts with the hr-Sinfonieorchester and Krzysztof Urbański, Vancouver Symphony and Tianyi Lu, Camerata Salzburg and Anja Bihlmaier as well as the Kammerakademie Potsdam. A tour with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini, CHAARTS and the Venice Baroque Orchestra is also on the agenda, as are duo performances with accordionist Hanzhi Wan in North America. Avi Avital is Artist in Residence at the Schwetzingen SWR Festival and regularly performs at the DeSingel Antwerp, Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin, Rheingau Musik Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

In 2023 Avi Avital founded the Between Worlds Ensemble, which he presented in a three-part residency at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and at concerts in Bucharest, Warsaw, Hamburg, Ludwigshafen and Antwerp. The ensemble explores musical genres, cultures and worlds, with programmes focusing on different geographical regions - in the first year on works of traditional, classical and folk music from the Iberian Peninsula, the Black Sea region and southern Italy.

Exclusively signed to Deutsche Grammophon, Avi Avital has now released his seventh album, which, just like his earlier, multi-award-winning recordings, has received excellent reviews from the international press.

Whether original composition, transcription or improvisation - this passionate advocate of the mandolin will be enriching the Musikfest Bremen for the fifth time with his exciting programmes.