Described by the New York Times as "born to the instrument," cellist Ofra Harnoy is one of the most illustrious classical performers of her generation....

Described by the New York Times as "born to the instrument," cellist Ofra Harnoy is one of the most illustrious classical performers of her generation. Born in Israel, she studied with her father, with Vladimir Orloff and William Pleeth and in masterclasses with Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Fournier and Jacqueline du Pré. After her family moved to Canada, she was invited to perform as a soloist with the Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras at age 10. Winning the 1982 International Concert Artists Guild award in New York led to her concerto and recital debut in Carnegie Hall, which earned both public and critical acclaim, and in 1983 she was named Young Musician of the Year by Musical America Magazine. She has since appeared as soloist with major orchestras on five continents and has been featured in hundreds of televised solo concerts across the globe. She has recorded more than 40 albums. In addition to standard cello repertoire, she presented the world premiere recordings (and performance) of the Viotti and Offenbach Cello concertos as well as 26 concertos by Vivaldi. This release features works by Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Saens.