Daniel Mitnitsky

Born in Tel Aviv, cellist Daniel Mitnitsky trained for 17 years under his mentor, Zvi Harell. He studied at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, the New England Conservatory in Boston in the classes of Paul Katz and Natasha Brofsky, and then at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Rolle, where he received guidance from Pablo de Naverán. He also had the privilege of working daily for nearly a month with the great musician Bernard Greenhouse.

Early on, Daniel received support from the ‘David Goldman Outstanding Young Musicians Program’ of the Jerusalem Music Centre and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Since then, he has won numerous awards and scholarships, including the ‘Rachel and Dov Gottesman Cello Prize’ from the Aviv Competition, the ‘Dan Ben-Bassat Scholarship,’ and First Prizes in Concerto and Chamber Music from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.

Chamber music quickly became his preferred means of expression. During his studies in Boston, he immersed himself in the string quartet repertoire and joined the ‘honors ensemble’ program.

In 2015, he moved to Europe to join the Aviv Quartet, with whom he performs in Europe, the USA, Israel, Canada, and South America. Last season, the quartet dedicated itself to Beethoven’s string quartets and performed the complete cycle during a series of concerts recorded by Swiss Radio and Television.

He has performed as a soloist and in chamber music at Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the KKL in Lucerne, the Rosey Concert Hall, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, de Doelen in Rotterdam, Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Jerusalem Theatre, Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Lviv National Philharmonic.

He performs with the Menuhin Academy Soloists and has been invited to the prestigious Perlman Music Program, the Cello Biennale Amsterdam, the Gstaad Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival.

He has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with accomplished artists, such as Maxim Vengerov, Itzhak Perlman, Shani Diluka, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet, the Talich Quartet, and the Jacques Thibaud String Trio.

Also dedicated to orchestral repertoire, he led the cello section of the Menuhin Academy Soloists before joining the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in 2017.

This 2020/2021 season, an Aviv Quartet recording dedicated to Schubert’s music, featuring the String Trio D. 581 and the Quintet D. 956, is being released on the Naxos label, as well as a recording titled ‘Live at Zentrum Paul Klee Bern’ with the ensemble ‘Tharice Virtuosi’ on Claves.

Daniel plays a 1856 Giuseppe Rocca cello, which is generously made available to him.