Imagine: two pianists born one hundred miles apart, one an Israeli and the other a Palestinian, forming a friendship that led to a most thrilling collaboration, the Duo AMAL / Hope. Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni have known each other since they were teenagers. A peace-themed concert at the Oslo Opera House in Norway in 2008 gave them the idea to perform together, and the rest is history. They chose the name from the Arabic word meaning hope. Duo AMAL/Hope has garnered acclaim in New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Bonn, Beijing, Melbourne, Geneva and elsewhere, their mantra:

“We are not here to offer answers. We are here to offer music—complicated, layered, sometimes dissonant, sometimes breathtakingly in sync. Just like the story we share.”

Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni

Since graduating from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, Bishara Haroni has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall and as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Valencia Symphony, and Palestinian Chamber Orchestra under conductors Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, and Daniel Barenboim. He has performed at the BBC Proms and is an avid chamber musician, whose collaborations with leading artists have taken place at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Salzburg Mozarteum, and Royal Albert Hall.

Steinway Artist Yaron Kohlberg is dedicated to engaging audiences through innovative programming and supporting emerging artists. The recipient of ten international prizes, including the Silver Medal at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, he has appeared in solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, and has performed with ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, Beijing Symphony, and Copenhagen Philharmonic. Since 2018, he has served as Artistic Director of Piano Cleveland.

I recently had a conversation with Yaron about his exciting projects and the activities of the duo.

JH: I’m quite intrigued that you lived in China for several years, and you speak Chinese fluently.

YK: I lived in China from 2015 to 2018. I made a lot of friends, and it was a phenomenal experience. I insisted on doing everything in Chinese to integrate and to be immersed in this unique culture.

Between Music and Cultures-Yaron Kohlberg

JH: Where are you based currently?

YK: I’m based in Cleveland as of 2018. I was hired to be the president and artistic director of Piano Cleveland, which is the presenting organisation of the Cleveland International Piano Competition. I am spending a good amount of my time now in Copenhagen as well, as my wife is Danish. She’s a doctor, actually!

JH: Readers will be amazed that you’ve lived on three continents and speak seven languages. Here is a lovely encore by Scriabin you played during your recital at the Kremlin in 2018, his Etude No. 2.

Yaron Kohlberg at the Kremlin-Scriabin Etude op. 2 no. 1

JH: With your work with Bishara, how do you communicate the idea that music is the bridge between cultures?

YK: Each day we read about what’s going on in the world, but I feel music has the power to go beyond these events. Whenever any of us sits at the piano or goes to a concert, whether it’s classical, jazz or pop, we can create something special where everybody is equal. Each one of us can take it in and enjoy it equally.

Yaron Kohlberg

JH: Tell us about how you met.

YK: We met many, many years ago. I even remember the first rehearsal with him just before we played at the opera house in Norway. My ears and soul perked up when I heard somebody who plays completely differently than me. Until that time, I was pretty much a soloist, occasionally playing with string players, but never another pianist. And here was Bishara, someone who was obviously a phenomenal musician. Suddenly, we had the opportunity to create something unique.

As the years passed, the music-making was part of a larger conversation. We didn’t only play together or just sit and practice a lot! Sure, we practiced but we were also listening and arguing both at the piano and outside of the studio. It was a very interesting process—a constant conversation on stage and off. At the time, we lived in the same apartment building in Berlin for a few years, and that allowed us the time onstage and over shared meals and other activities to forge a friendship and to learn from each other. Over time, I think we developed a bridge that linked our two lives into a single shared story. And music always is a reminder that what lasts is the connection we create.

Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni

JH: As musicians, when one “clicks”, we hardly need words when we’re playing together.

YK: It’s a completely different experience than what I had before, until then, or with anybody else. Because we play the same instrument, especially playing four-hands, I would say melding as a team is quite a subtle thing, that is, to cohesively bring together the elements of coordination, the use of the pedal, and the touch. I can say we created something that went much deeper than anything else I had done prior to that point. And it still continues. Duo AMAL has had the most impact on me as a person as well as a musician. Every note carries a deep resonance, and when we play, we enter a different plane beyond words. I think the following quote sums it up.

“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life, bringing peace, abolishing strife.” — Kahlil Gibran

JH: I love this short Interview from several years ago that explains more about how you met.

Duo Amal: An Isreali-Palestinian Piano Partnership

JH: The literature for two pianos is quite special, encompassing composers from Mozart to Stravinsky. His Rite of Spring was written for two pianos by the composer himself.

Duo Amal-Mozart Sonata for two Pianos in D Major

Short excerpt of Stravinsky Rite of Spring

JH: Do you specialise in any genre or composer?

YK: We perform these masterworks and several transcriptions of standard favourites of classical music and popular music— everything from the baroque to the contemporary. For example, here is the Classical Symphony by Prokofiev for the duo.

Duo Amal – Prokofiev-Classical Symphony Arr. Rikuya Terashima

And numerous pieces have been written for us, some we have commissioned. Our collaborations include those with both Israeli and Palestinian composers, and we’ve worked extensively with Russian composer Alexey Kurbatov.

Most beautiful girl in the kindergarten-Yaron Kohlberg

JH: I see you come from a musical family. Your mother was the concertmaster of the Jerusalem Symphony and your father a pianist. Did they force you to practice?

YK: I just loved it when my parents played at home, and of course, my mother took me to concerts at a very young age. At some point, I started practicing a lot of my own accord, maybe I was fourteen or so, but before that, they had to push me to practice. Naturally, I preferred to be outside playing with my friends! I also had a very demanding teacher who was from the former USSR, so I practiced!

JH: A new documentary short film entitled AMAL | Hope released in 2025 is about your relationship and teamwork. The film, created by the Chinese American filmmaker Eros Zhao, was recently named Best Documentary Short at the 2025 Bali International Film Festival. How did the film come about?

YK: We didn’t seek out to have the documentary made— the director found us. He wrote me an email. Actually, at the time, I was very busy with the Cleveland International Piano Competition. Our 50^th anniversary was in 2024 and honestly, initially I wondered if his offer was truly serious. He had to email me a couple more times! I discussed it with Bishara, and then the director came all the way from LA to Cleveland to meet with me. I was compelled by him as a person and intrigued by his vision. So I said yes. It came from him and his team, and I’m so glad we did it.

Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni

JH: The film is being shown in several places.

YK: Although both of us have pursued successful, separate solo careers, we are once again increasing our duo appearances. We are offering a new format— we show the movie; we perform both solo works and duos, and a Q & A follows. People really like it, and it’s wonderful to have a conversation with the audience, like we recently did in Los Angeles’ Zipper Hall, Colburn School in January.

JH: Have you had a chance to collaborate with the outstanding musicians in Cleveland?

YK: I have performed with some of the musicians of the orchestra. The Cleveland International Piano Competition is one of the oldest piano competitions in the US. The finals of our competition include performing with the Cleveland Orchestra, which is one of the things that makes our competition special. The organisation has meant a lot to me since I won the silver medal in 2007.

JH: In a recent interview published by The Violin Channel, you said, “The world has grown louder, more divided, more fragile. But our friendship remains, as does our need to make something beautiful across the lines that others say should divide us.”

YK: I consider myself an international person citizen of the world. As artists, we don’t necessarily agree with everything our governments represent. Our bond is powerful. Bishara and I are two human beings, two friends, who try to forget about the conflicts that are happening and communicate to everyone the breathtaking variety of emotions that music conveys. My passion is to create a bridge between cultures through music.

JH: What’s coming up next for you?

YK: Our young artists competition for ages 10-18 is this year, this summer, which I am excited about. I’ve been invited to serve on the juries of several international piano competitions, the one coming up is in Slovenia, followed by another in Portugal, and we have several performances on the books, including many with the duo.

JH: I’m sure readers are looking forward to the duo’s exciting future.

Below is the complete documentary. For more, visit AMAL | Hope on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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AMAL | HOPE – Documentary Short Film – Director Eros Zhao, Producer Maria Giacchino

Yaron Kohlberg-Shanghai TV documentary