Death of an Israeli pianist, 91
RIPMourning notices have appeared for the pianist and composer Yonatan Zak.
A Juilliard graduate, he was pianist of the Yuval Trio, which made several recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, and was a sought after accompanist by leading singers and violinists. Zak was professor emeritus at the Buchmann-Mehta school in Tel Aviv.
Yonatan Zak was a unique and intelligent musician and human being— beloved by all who knew him. He will live on warmly in our memories
Yonatan Zak was a great musician with fine musical playing, impressive technique and musicality, collaborating with as many musicians as there are stars in the sky. He was a trailblazer as a teacher of many generations of accompanists in Israel. With his modesty, humor and professionalism he infected us all with the love for Lieder. I entered the (then so called) Rubin academy with big plans to Play Chopin, but left it as a singer’s accompanist who wanted to play Schumman and Szymanowski Lieder.
He was my teacher, and my very good friend. There is no one who can replace him.