Michael Tsalka

Michael Tsalka is an award-winning Dutch/Israeli pianist and early keyboard performer. He performs solo and chamber music from the Baroque to the Contemporary periods on the modern piano, harpsichord, fortepiano, clavichord, square piano and positive organ. Michael Tsalka, who is the oldest son of Israeli writer Dan Tsalka, performs throughout Europe, the U.S.A., Canada, Asia, and Latin America. Recent engagements include the Boston Early Music Festival, the Gasteig in Münich, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, the Bellas Artes Theater in Mexico City, the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, the Hermitage Festival in St. Petersburg, and full programs and interviews for radio stations in Hong Kong, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Chicago, Berlin, Auckland, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Jerusalem.

Michael Tsalka graduated in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in piano performance from the Rubin Academy of Music at the Tel Aviv University. He then continued studying in Germany and Italy. In 2001, he received a piano solo diploma from the Scuola Superiore Internazionale del Trio di Trieste. From 2002 to 2008, he resided in Philadelphia and studied at the Esther Boyer College of Music of Temple University with pianists Lambert Orkis, Harvey Wedeen, and harpsichordist Joyce Lindorff. Tsalka holds three degrees from that institution: a master's degree in chamber music/accompanying, a master's degree in harpsichord performance and a doctorate in piano performance. From 2009 to 2011, Tsalka was a professor of harpsichord and chamber music at the Escuela Superior de Musica (CONACULTA / INBA). From 2011 to 2014 he taught at Musikskolan Lilla Akademien in Stockholm. Currently he is visiting professor at the School of Music of the University of Auckland.

Michael Tsalka has released sixteen CDs for labels such as NAXOS/Grand Piano, Paladino (Vienna), Brilliant Classics (Amsterdam), IMI (Tel-Aviv), and Ljud & Bild (Stockholm). Current and future recording projects include CDs dedicated to keyboard works by J. S. Bach, Daniel Gottlob Türk, Johann Baptist Wanhal, Carl Dittersdorf, Ferdinand Ries, Franz Schubert, Viktor Ullmann Paul Ben-Haim and Yehezkel Braun. His CDs have generally received excellent reviews and the attention of respected critics. In 2013 his recording of the Goldberg Variations on two clavichords was chosen as one of eight CDs of the year by MusicWeb International.

Tsalka was the co artistic director of the Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival (2012-2015). He is also artistic director of the Geelvinck International Fortepiano Festival (2014-2016).