Pianist Imri Talgam has played as soloist throughout the world, winning recognition for his “extreme virtuosity” (Classica magazine) and “uniquely powerful vision” (Codalario), as well as “subtle introspection” (Parma Gazette). He has recently performed as soloist in Ligeti’s piano concerto with Ensemble Modern under the direction of Enno Poppe, as well as with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonice Saarbrücken. Talgam’s recent appearances include venues such as Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, KKL Lucerne, the Shanghai Conservatory, and Alice Tully hall, Saarbrücken Radio’s Sendesaal, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He plays regularly with Ensemble Modern, the Israeli Contemporary players, Novus, Talea, and the Metropolis Ensemble. As a soloist, Talgam has toured widely in Europe, North America, Argentina, Russia, China, and Israel, including festival appearances in Shanghai New Music Week, Lucerne Festival, Darmstadt summer courses, Israel Festival, Mänttä Piano Festival (Finland), Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont, France), and the Tel Aviv Festival for New Music (Tzlil Meudcan).

Talgam is the winner of the 11th Concours International de Piano d’Orléans, in which he received 1st prize, as well as the Denisov prize and the Claude Helffer prize. Talgam’s playing has been featured in radio broadcasts in Spain, Germany, France, Israel, Croatia, and the US. His debut CD of works by Nancarrow, Kagel, Stockhausen and Furrer (2015, Solstice) was lauded for its “virtuosity and refined touch” (Diapason Magazine), as well as “fiery and controlled playing” (Classica Magazine). Most recently, Talgam was awarded the Yvar Mikhashoff Foundation prize (2017) together with Yair Klartag for their collaboration.

Talgam’s repertoire ranges from Frescobaldi’s toccatas to dozens of premiers by contemporary composers, including works such as Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, Messiaen’s Vingt Regards, Ligeti’s Etudes, and Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke. He has worked with major figures, including Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Enno Poppe, Matthias Pintscher and Ilan Volkov among others.

After graduating from the Tel-Aviv University in the class of Emanuel Krasovsky, Talgam studied with Matti Raekallio at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. His studies (M.Mus) continued with Raekallio and Robert McDonald at the Juilliard School of music in 2010. During 2012/13, Talgam performed as pianist of the Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt, working closely with Ueli Wiget and Hermann Kretzschmar. Most recently, he completed his doctoral degree at CUNY’s Graduate Center with Ursula Oppens, with research on the perception and performance of rhythmic complexity, advised by Joseph Straus. Additionally, he studied electronic and computer music studies at Brooklyn College Computer music center with Red Wierenga and Douglas Geers.