their driveways. Even the Tube 
was completely shut down. 
We still went through with the 
concert to a half-full audience, 
and I was surprised there was 
any audience at all. 
“That was a bonding expe-
rience for the quartet and me 
to play together and then go 
through an extraordinary jour-
ney home. We always remem-
ber that.” 
As Barnatan travels to con-
cert halls around the world, he 
enjoys the chance to be part 
of new cultures. He said he 
likes being in different places 
and enjoying different cities. 
Experiencing the food and the 
atmosphere are some of his 
favorite pastimes. 
As Barnatan entertains 
in Ann Arbor, he will have 
some early-release samples 
of an album set to come 
out in November. It is titled 
Rachmaninoff Reflections.
“Some of it I’ve arranged 

myself for solo piano,” he said. 
“It’s a world premiere recording 
of the composer’s last orches-
tral works. Rachmaninoff is 
one of the great, great romantic 
composers, and his music is 
some of the most emotionally 

powerful and poignant that 
you can find. 
“Most people are famil-
iar with his music and his 
piano concertos because they 
appeared in so many movies 
and soundtracks. They are 

some of the most beloved 
music in the world.”
Barnatan, who practices 
every day, credits teachers for 
the enjoyment he derives from 
that. The teachers, he said, 
were not strict about practic-
ing.
“I’m always excited with the 
opportunity to show different 
sides of what I do,” the pianist 
said. “Something I believe 
in quite strongly is that all 
of these things feed into one 
another. It’s hard to play a 
good recital without having the 
experience, the knowledge and 
the appreciation of what it’s like 
to play with other instruments, 
singers and orchestras. 
“
All of these things are part 
of things I love doing. It’s a tes-
tament to the breadth of what 
the University Musical Society 
in Ann Arbor does. It’s one of 
those places where I can do all 
those things in a week or so, 
and that’s exciting to me.” 

Details
Inon Barnatan will perform with Renée Fleming at 730 
p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Hill Auditorium, 825 N. 
University, Ann Arbor. Barnatan will perform with the 
Jerusalem Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in 
Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington, Ann Arbor. 
Student tickets start at $12. For information on tickets 
and other events, go to (734) 764-2538 and ums.org.

Renée Fleming and 
Inon Barnatan

the ambassador from the 
United States.”
Dworkin, 53, the adopted 
son of a Jewish couple, 
identifies as Jewish and 
includes his family in that 
designation. They celebrate 
Jewish holidays, and his 
two sons, now 24 and 16, 
attended programming 
at the Jewish Community 
Center in Ann Arbor.
His wife, Afa, a violinist, 
is president and artistic 
director of the Sphinx 
Organization.
“One of the partnerships 
of the Sphinx Organization, 
which I founded over 
25 years ago, has been 
with the Ann Arbor 
Symphony,” Dworkin said. 
“The inaugural Sphinx 
Competition was with the 
Ann Arbor Symphony.

“To this day, they still 
feature winners of the 
Sphinx Competition so the 
symphony is very close and 
personal. My wife played 
as an undergraduate at 
the university and was a 
full-time member. At the 
inaugural Sphinx, she was 
in the orchestra, and that 
led to her engagement with 
Sphinx.”
Dworkin, who has been 
on TV’s Today and news 
programs, was named by 
Newsweek as one of “15 
People Who Make America 
Great.” He made an Emmy 
Award-winning film, 
An American Prophecy. 
A member of many arts 
organizations, he has 
raised $50 million for 
philanthropic causes.
“All the things I do I love 

and really don’t view as 
work,” he said “Very often, 
weekends are viewed as 
weekdays. I’m absolutely 
a film fanatic. I watch 
approximately 150 movies 
a year. I’m also an amateur 
poker player in that I play 
charity games in Michigan.” 
Dworkin expressed his 
outlook in being part of the 
opening of the 95th season 
of the symphony.
“I’m deeply honored and 
excited to be able to play 
this role in the kickoff for 
the symphony season,” 
Dworkin said. 
“Because of the pro-
fessional and personal role 
that the symphony has 
played in my life, it’s an 
honor for me to be a part of 
the launch and celebration 
of this year.” 

PHOTOS BY SHAWN LEE

Details 
The Ann Arbor Symphony 
Orchestra will perform 
its opening concert at 8 
p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, 
at Hill Auditorium, 825 
N. University, Ann Arbor. 
Pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. 
$15-$90. (734) 994-4801.

SEPTEMBER 21 • 2023 | 57

ISRAELI PIANIST COMES TO 
ANN ARBOR from page 56

A POETJOURNALIST from page 55