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Avi Schönfeld is a Polish pianist and composer. He was born inLodz, Poland on 15 December 1947.
Schönfeld gave his first concert in his native Poland at the age of 19 before going to Israel to become a pupil of theBartók discipleIlona Vincze-Kraus. After winning several national and international prizes, including one with theJerusalem Symphony Orchestra and first prize in theLeo Kestenberg competition, Schönfeld made his debut in 1968 with the Israeli Radio and Television Orchestra playingRachmaninov'sPaganini Variations.
In November 1972, at the invitation of the French government, Schönfeld undertook study withVlado Perlemuter,Yvonne Lefébure,Arthur Rubinstein, andMarcel Ciampi in piano,Henryk Szeryng in chamber music, andNadia Boulanger andAlexandre Tansman in composition. After a period of teaching at the Royal Brussels Conservatory, Schönfeld was appointed to a post at theMaastricht Conservatory in the Netherlands.
In addition to his creative work, Schönfeld is artistic director and founder of the European Pianistic Research Institute of Maastricht (EPRIM) and artistic adviser to the Anglo Dutch Piano Platform and the Académie Pianistica of the Maastricht Municipal Theatre. He receives commissions for writing the compositions for piano competitions and serves as a jury member in said competitions.
Schönfeld’s piano catalogue includesAnimato,Sphinx,Labyrinthe,Ombres,Sentiers No. 1 (written for the Indonesian pianistAnanda Sukarlan) andTango-Étude (Max Eschig/Durand),Agitato andJeu (Henry Lemoine),Légende (Éditions Combre) andSonatine Méditerranéenne, alongside five piano sonatas (No. 3 Notturno,No. 4 Hommage à Chopin,No. 5 in C minor).[1] Chamber works include a violin sonata andBallade for violin and piano, a cello sonata, a clarinet sonata, a suite for two pianos, and a piano concerto.
Reviews describe his idiom as balancing modernist rigor with accessible chromatic tonality: “a compromise between the rigorously disciplined dissonance of the Second Viennese School and the simpler chromatic tonality of Barber,” with phrasing shaped like declamation and an emphasis on varied gesture and sonority. The piano writing is noted for fluency and playability despite high energy and virtuosity.[2][3][4]
Schönfeld’s piano teaching combined technical discipline with physical freedom, emphasizing coordination between hand, arm, and finger for clarity, rhythm, and tone control. Central to his approach was the refined use of the fingers — notably controlled finger lifting and what he described as theumbrella technique,[5] linking natural finger action to strategic arm movement.[6] Drawing on the traditions of Ilona Vincze-Krausz, Yvonne Lefébure, Vlado Perlemuter, and Arthur Rubinstein, he encouraged a search for sonority and color, teaching that phrasing, rhythm, and tonal shading were inseparable aspects of musical interpretation. Former students recall his lessons as analytical yet artistic, always aimed at uniting technique and sound.
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