Saleem Ashkar

Saleem Ashkar is Professor of Piano and Director of the Keyboard Program at Brown University's Department of Music within the College of Arts and Sciences. An internationally acclaimed concert pianist, he divides his time between Berlin and New England, maintaining an active dual career in both academic instruction and professional performance. His artistic work centers on piano performance, particularly as a recognized Beethoven specialist who has performed and recorded the complete Beethoven sonata cycle.

Awarded praise as 'a great poet at the piano' who 'captivates the public with a broad spectrum of nuanced tone colours,' Ashkar has performed with leading orchestras worldwide including the London Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin, and Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He maintains close collaborations with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, and Fabio Luisi. His recent and upcoming performances span major venues from Carnegie Hall to Musikverein Vienna, with a particularly strong reputation as a recitalist.

Ashkar's research and artistic interests focus on piano performance, Classical and Romantic era interpretation (especially Beethoven), chamber music, and cross-cultural musical collaboration. His notable project is the Galilee Chamber Orchestra, which he founded to foster collaboration between Arab and Jewish musicians in Israel. The orchestra has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and Konzerthaus Berlin, with Joshua Bell as soloist.

His recording output includes the complete Beethoven Piano Sonata cycle released in 2023 across eleven CDs, plus individual volumes featuring specific sonatas. He has also recorded Mendelssohn's Piano Concertos with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Ashkar's scholarly contributions appear through his 'Memory and Music' writings and program notes that explore the intersection of personal experience and musical interpretation.

As an educator, Ashkar emphasizes developing each student's unique musical voice while providing rigorous technical foundation. His teaching philosophy centers on making complex techniques serve musical expression rather than drawing attention to themselves. He has curated numerous performance programs at Brown University that connect keyboard music to broader cultural and historical contexts, creating opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.