Musicatlas
Music
In his music, Gilad Hochman puts a great emphasis on subjects relating to the Jewish tradition and his Israeli origin on one hand, while merging a contemporary musical language on the other. These themes are mainly portrayed through traditional harmonic and melodic elements, whilst introducing a new vision, making his music accessible to a wide range of audiences.
An article on Hochman’s piece, "Slightly Disturbed", for clarinet, violin and cello, suggested that: “the non-musical context of the piece sheds a new light over traditional usage of musical elements… yet at the same time, remains very subtle” (Noam Ben-ze’ev, Ha’aretz). Similarly, his pieces; “A voice in the Wilderness”, for orchestra (commissioned by the Tel Aviv Soloist ensemble), “Akeda”, for solo viola (commissioned by the Aviv Contests ’07), and, “On the Verge of an Abyss”, for choir a cappella (commissioned by the Naked Voices ensemble), all express various concepts in contemporary music which correspond with the composer’s Jewish-Israeli origins.
More of Hochman’s better known compositions include: “Variations” [2003] for solo violin; “Rhapsody” [2003] for solo cello; “Brief Memories” [2004] for string trio; “Voice” [2004] for solo violin and large ensemble and “Lior” [2006] for soprano and small ensemble.
Life
Gilad Hochman was born in Israel in 1982 to an Odessa born father and a Paris born mother. He studied piano since the age of 6 and at 18 graduated with honors from the Herzeli’ya Conservatory, under the guidance of composer Ilya Heifetz and pianist Mark Shaviner. In 2007 Gilad Hochman graduated with honors from the Buchman-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University, guided by composer Gil Shohat.
Gilad Hochman is the winner of the prestigious Israeli Prime Minister Award for Composers (2007) and is considered to be one of the most prominent composers in Israel today. At the age of 22, Gilad was appointed composer in residence by the Symphonette Ra’anana Orchestra, becoming the youngest composer to win this title as well as the Israeli Prime Minister Award at 24. Hochman’s pieces are frequently performed on concert stages in Israel by leading soloists, ensembles and orchestras, and his artistic work is gaining both colleagues’ and the audience’s acclaim. One of Israel’s dominant newspapers describes him: “Hochman writes with the hand of an artist, along with talent and musical taste, his piece spurred much enthusiasm and curiosity to listen to more and more from his music” (Ora Binur, Ma’ariv). In addition, his artistic work is gaining broad interest and recommendations from all dominant newspaper critics in Israel. Today, Gilad Hochman resides in Berlin, Germany, where he continues his artistic work.