ArenaPAL - Dan Porges photo gallery and spotlight

When I photograph in concerts I am like a fly on the wall
as I can neither pose nor talk to the personalities I am photographing...

DAN ETTINGER - conductor with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Lezion

Ralf Gothoni (Finnish pianist / conductor) conducting the Israel Camerata Recanati Concert Hall

I was born in Jerusalem, moved to the U.S. in 1969 and returned to Israel in 1996. As a portraitist I have photographed many world famous personalities including Nobel Prize winners, Prime Ministers, politicians, bestselling authors and famous musicians.

I studied flute as a child and love and understand music but only started to shoot concerts in 2000 after some of the maestros, whose portraits I wanted to take for a forthcoming exhibition, asked me to shoot them ‘in action’. I found not only that I enjoyed this part of my work very much but covering classical music concerts has become an important part of my work. Israel may be a small country but it is an important cultural centre and despite the continuing war situation, many renowned musicians and artists are regular visitors as well, of course, our own Israeli performers.

Zubin Mehta, conducting Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

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Daniel Barenboim conducting the Israel Philharmonic in rehearsal. The Mann Auditorium, Dec 28, 2006. The Israel Philharmonic 70th anniversary festival

Zubin Mehta with The Israel Philharmonic

Left: SALEEM ABBOUD ASHKAR on piano Right: SHAI WOSNER on piano with ELENA BASHKIROVA

Mischa Maisky (cello) with the israel Philharmonic under the button of George Pehlivanian Tel Aviv

Lang Lang (piano) & Daniel Barenboim (piano) playing four hands

Israeli composer and musician Shlomo Gronich

Elena Bashkirova - music and artistic director, pianist

Elena Bashkirova, pianist. Gidon Kremer, violinist

I treat my concert shoots as Musical Portraits. When I photograph in concerts I am like a fly on the wall as I can neither pose nor talk to the personalities I am photographing . Loving and understanding music means I instinctively know when to expect a great shot or situation and so I am already prepared with my camera to work alongside the great masters and click at the right times. My main criteria, when I reviews the shots, is to choose the images where the musicians look their best and are most impressive. That is why my pictures of Dudamel and Lynn Harrell were chosen by their managers to be used for their Publicity and PR purposes.

Gustavo Dudamel (Venezuela) - conductor

My musical portraits of Daniel Barenboim, Elena Bashkirova, Itzhak Perlman, Mischa Maisky, Valery Gergiev, Julian Rachlin, Lang Lang, Daniel Oren and many others have appeared in countless international publications as magazine covers, advertisements, posters, newspaper articles etc.

In concerts I only use digital cameras. I wish there was a professional camera which was completely silent so that not even the click was audible. I also use a digital camera for my portrait shoots but here I wish I could use film as technically the pictures would be better. Unfortunately, however, film is passé for me.

Israeli pianist Alexander Tamir teaching a student at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance 01/06

Lang Lang - Chinese pianist
in rehearsal with the Israel Philharmonic

Daniel Barenboim - the Israeli pianist
playing in concert with the Israel Philharmonic Zubin Mehta - conductor

Measha Brueggergosman ( b. 1977) - Canadian soprano

Look for more images by Dan Porges

GIL SHOHAT - Israeli composer and conductor

EVELYN BLAKEY Singer / Actress and daughter of jazz legend Art Blakey

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