EDEN-TAMIR, Israeli piano duo. Bracha Eden was born in Jerusalem (1928) and Alexander Tamir (1931), a native of Vilna, settled in Jerusalem after World War II. Both studied with Alexander Schroeder (a pupil of A. Schnabel) at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. After graduating in 1952, they formed a piano duo. In 1955 they continued their studies with Vronsky and Babin at Aspen. They made their debut in Israel in 1954 and appeared in New York (1955) and Rome (1956), where they won the 1957 Vercelli Competition. Eden and Tamir founded the Max Targ Music Center in Ein Kerem, near Jerusalem (1968), and taught as senior professors at the Rubin Academy. During the 1990s they began to perform and teach regularly in China, Russia, and Poland, and in 1997 they became directors of the International Duo Piano Seminary. Well known for their artistry, virtuosity, and immaculate ensemble playing, the duo made an important contribution to the revival of works for two pianos and piano duet.

Among their recordings are the complete works for two pianos and piano duet of Mozart, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff, and works by Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Bartók, and Poulenc. They gave the American première of Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations (1955) and, at the suggestion of Stravinsky (1968), were the first to perform and record the piano duet version of The Rite of Spring. Tamir has made several transcriptions for piano duo and duet and has written a few works for piano duo.

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Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.

Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir