"Rony Rogoff" is the only violinist who uses the proper proportion for any given style and the best Mozart player in existence. He is one of the few who understand the meaning behind the notes and is capable of bringing it through."
This is Sergiu Celibidache’s opinion on his former student and long time friend.

Rony Rogoff was born in Israel and was taught initially by his father who was a founding member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (the former Palestine S. O.) and by Ramy Shevelov. He then studied at the Juilliard School in New York with Ivan Galamian and in particular with Dorothy DeLay as well as in Switzerland with Joseph Szigeti.

As a soloist he was accompanied by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta, as well as by the leading orchestras in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Paris, Madrid, Tokyo, Manila, Caracas, the radio orchestras in Copenhagen and Stuttgart, the Munich Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the 'Rheinland-Pfälzische Staatsphilharmonie' under conductors like Sergiu Celibidache, Leonard Bernstein, Enrique García Asensio, Aldo Ceccato or Arthur Fiedler.

His solo performances of Bach’s Partitas and Stockhausen’s 'Zodiac' at the Lincoln Center in New York have achieved a legendary status and were released by Sony in Japan.

Besides being in command of the complete standard repertoire, Rogoff has always dedicated himself to lesser known but valuable works such as the violin concerto of the great Norwegian dodekaphonist Fartein Valen, of which he gave the American premiere.

In 1982 the famous critic H. H. Stuckenschmidt declared after witnessing Rogoff’s performance of Alban Berg’s violin concerto at the Berlin Festival with the Munich Philharmonic under Celibidache, that this performance "had corresponded more than any other one with the last will of its composer, whom he had known personally".

The long lasting collaboration with Sergiu Celibidache was the most influential in Rogoff’s professional life. Not least the continous exchange with many international first class artists has helped him to develop into one of the most experienced violin teachers of our time. Indeed the teaching practise has become more and more important for Rogoff and is claiming more and more of his time.
His master classes for violin and chamber music in South America, Japan, the Philippines, Italy, Austria (summer school of the Mozarteum) and Germany (working for 9 years continuously in CJD institutions Elze and Berchtesgaden) have become legendary.

He is an internationally highly acclaimed conductor and tutor for orchestras in Denmark, Spain, Italy, Japan, South America and the Philippines.
1994 Rogoff started founding a chamber orchestra with students in Italy. Firstly situated near Vicenza and named 'I Cameristi - La Scuola di Rony Rogoff', the orchestra quickly gained an outstanding reputation and was soon invited to the renowned Italian festivals in Bologna and Venice. In Venice they performed Johannes Brahms’ complete chamber music as well as the first serenade for orchestra. The cycle was recorded live and issued on CD (released by Mondo Musica and highly praised by the media in Germany and Italy). After becoming incorporated into the Fondazione Cini in Venice the ochestra was renamed as 'Accademia Musicale di San Giorgio'. Performances of demanding works like Anton Bruckner’s string quintet, Richard Strauss’ Metamorphoses, Arnold Schönberg’s 'Transfigured Night' and 'Suite in G', Béla Bartók’s Divertimento, as well as symphonic works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms etc. demonstrate the unique qualities of this ensemble. He worked as the Artistic Director of the ensemble until 2002.

Christian Ostertag, winner of the German Music Competition in Bonn, concertmaster of SWR Symphony Orchestra Freiburg and Baden-Baden:
"Nobody has taught me more about the right hand. He imparts to his students the greatest possible insight into elementary principles and the problems of instrumental playing. In chamber music it is the thorough understanding of structure and the selfless devotion in the service of music. He supports this without being distracted by superficial success. His courses are all around more productive than any others that I have attended."

"Extraordinary beauty and exiting power
Rogoff showed how strong was the Szigeti stylistic influence – in the superoir, musicianly way he played it – remarkable firmness, intensity and structural cohesion. The performance is first-rate with extraordinary beauty and exiting power. Some of the sounds were as lyrical and dulcet as you could expect from a violin."
Raymond Ericson, New York Times

"Sensation. Mr. Rogoff, varying expression, emphasis, dynamics, and character, playing with complete seriousness and involvement, created magical music. Applying the full resources of his romantic playing style, intervals and harmonies were seen as if lit from different qangles and in contrasting colors. This personal interpretation was a fine example of a performer's creativity complementing that of the composer "
Nicholas Kenyon, the New Yorker

"A flawless sense of pitch. An exquisite example of superior technique. A remarkable talent."
San Francisco Chronicle

"Mr. Rogoff's performance was memorable; brilliant technique, beautiful tone and elegant phrasing, (on the level of the great Szigeti)."
Strasbourg News

"Rony rogoff has discovered the unique approach to the contemporary interpretation of Bach, The Sonata No. 3 in C Major is monumental. This record is not only recommended, it is a must."
Career World

"Excellent. Impeccable. A ravishing demonstration of transcendental technique that is magical, tender, profound and romantic ."
Diapason Magazine de la Musique Disque et du Son (Paris)

"His rock-solid tone and faultless technique remained sovereign in even the most confounding passages. His unfaltering overall grasp of his musical duties and his mature artistic posture would be worthy of the most seasoned musician ."
High Fidelity/Musical America

"His performance captured the hearts of the audience by storm ."
Tokyo Times

"He played three great concertos (Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Lalo) with such consistent beauty of tone and sweetness of sound, such refined precision of rhytzhm and grace of phraseology, and such penetration of the music – a magnificant performance."
Daily Mirror

"Rogoff played sensitively, dramatically, beautifully and with great devotion."
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich

"Mr. Rogoff was more than brilliant. If Bartók was a violinist, he would play his concertos like Rony Rogoff."
El Mundo, Madrid

"Rogoff conquered all with his own measure of lyricism and technical virtuosity; elegant and completely captivating ."
Los Angeles Times

"The new Menuhin ."
La Monde de la Musique

"Rony Rogoff played beautifully with oerfect technique and sensitivity. A violinist of first rank."
Mahariv, Israel

"He reached perfection with his beautifully singing sound in the elegiac, meditating basic atmosphere."
Politiken, Copenhagen

The Brahms Cycle (CD Edition), Neue MusikZeitung
»'Celibidache Equivalent'. In 1995 Rony Rogoff, favourite soloist of Celibidache (he performed violin concertos by Mozart and Bergwith the legendary Romanian conductor), founded his 'Scuola' in Arcugnano near Vicenza. In the beginning rehearsals took place on the premises of a former axe factory but soon the orchestra took off with exemplary success. The results are immortalised in the most gripping manner on 14 CDs (all recorded live) of Brahms’ complete chamber music — a mamoth project. These are like chamber music equivalent to Celibidache’s symphonic Brahms, which is now also available from the late Munich years — this is to be most overtly experienced in the grand serenade, which Rogoff conducts himself...
The clear awareness of the function of all the manifold details lets all the pieces unfold as 'logical', irreversible processes. The main characteristics of every single movement, the development of tension are the top priorities. Modulations are purposefully directed to restraining clearness, the counterpointing network is filled with logic transparency, sonorous, noble sound (1st quintet!) and irresistable rhythmic vitality even in very slow motion. I have never heard such organically coherent and musically conscious performances in particular of the larger scored pieces.«

Frankfurter Rundschau, by Christoph Schlüren
»'Musical heroism in the axe factory'. Debut of Scuola di Rony Rogoff at the Bologna Festival Musica
Last November, in the small village Arcugnano near Vicenza, the Scuola di Rony Rogoff was called into being on the premises of a former axe factory and with the kind support of the families of some members. The project progressed so terrifically that observers from nearby Bologna were sent in order to consider the future inclusion into the yearly festival. The festival organisers agreed that there was no time to loose. However, as the Bologna Festival Musica capacity was reached for the traditional time schedule between April and June, it was decided to have an appendix : for the first time the festival was continued in September. Then five concerts on three evenings were solely dedicated to the performances of the Scuola di Rony Rogoff. The event was held in the venerable Teatro Comunale and was considered continuously successful. Experts praised the strong emphasis on works of the 20th century: Bartók, Schönberg, Webern, Berg, Stockhausen - although all were specifically matured in an intensive and long training, these were the first official concerts of the Scuola. Among the highlights were performances of Schubert’s octet proving highest refinement, of Bartók’s 2nd quartet, demonstrating extraordinary balance and the most natural realization of the four-part counterpoint, and of course Rogoff’s performances, as a soloist in Mozart’s G major concerto or Stockhausen’s Zodiac, or as the impetuous conductor in Dvorák’s string serenade which was played with immense coloristic luxury. The technical standard satisfies first class demands and the artistic potential is extraordinary. »

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