Sivan Magen
Praised by the press as “a magician” (New York’s WQXR), whose "brilliant sound and remarkable technical acumen shatter any stereotype of his instrument" (New York Times), Sivan Magen is the only Israeli to have ever won the International Harp Contest in Israel. He is a winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, and in 2012 was chosen by a committee headed by Dame Mitsuko Uchida as the winner of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Magen has appeared as a soloist across the US, South America, Europe and Israel, at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Sydney Opera House and the Vienna Konzerthaus, and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, Magen has performed at the Marlboro, Kuhmo, Giverny, and Jerusalem International Chamber Music festivals, as well as with Musicians from Marlboro, and collaborated with artists such as Nobuko Imai, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Gary Hoffman, Emmanuel Pahud, Susanna Phillips, and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets. He is a founding member of Israeli Chamber Project and of Trio Tre Voci (with flautist Marina Piccinini and violist Kim Kashkashian). His two solo albums for Linn records, as well as his recordings with ICP (for Azica) and with Tre Voci (ECM) garnered great critical acclaim, as did his recording with tenor Nicholas Phan (Avie), which was listed in the New York Times "Best of 2012". His performance of Ravel's Introduction and Allegro is featured on Marlboro's 60th Anniversary CD.
A graduate of the Paris Conservatory and the Juilliard School, Magen is a sought-after teacher at international masterclasses and has served on the juries of several international harp competitions. He served as visiting professor at the Paris Conservatory in the spring of 2017, and is the principal harpist of the Finnish Radio Symphony since the start of the 2017-18 season.