Virtuoso pianist Orli Shaham, left, is coming to Toronto to perform with the AMICI Chamber Music Ensemble during its final concert for the 2008 season.

She’ll be playing with the ensemble, cellist David Hetherington, clarinetist Joaquin Valdepeñas – both founding members of AMICI – violinist Jonathan Crow and violist Teng Li, on April 6 at Glenn Gould Studio.

The program includes three selections on the theme of Hungarian folk music: Béla Bartók’s Contrasts for violin, clarinet and piano; Zoltan Kodaly’s Duo for violin and cello and Erno von Dohnányi’s Quintet in C minor, op. 1 for piano and strings.

Though Shaham may be a master pianist, coveted by orchestras across the globe these days, she’s much in demand at her home in New York, where the 32-year-old is taking care of her newborn fraternal twin boys, Nathan and Alex.

“I’m starting to despair about sleep,” she said, laughing. “But they’re so wonderful.”

Her husband, David Robertson, is the director of the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra. The couple maintain a residence in that city as well.

Speaking to The CJN from New York last month, Shaham anticipated a top-notch performance with AMICI.

“I know Joaquin Valdepeñas for many years… we’ve played together many times. I’m really excited to be making music with these folks. I just know the quality is gonna be unbelievably high,” Shaham said.

She added that she has fond memories of Toronto, her last two visits being to record CDs at the Glenn Gould Studio.

“It’s going to be interesting coming there now not to record,” she quipped.

Musicality runs in her family.  Shaham’s older brother, Gil, is a celebrated virtuoso violinist.

The siblings have played and recorded together over the years, and Shaham considers herself lucky to have her older brother to kick around whenever the two get together for some music-making.

“It’s the greatest communication. [We have] a shared cultural upbringing, and we have shared musical sensibilities because of that. On that level, the music-making is just so natural,” Shaham said.

“On a personal level, usually when you’re playing chamber music, you have to be very polite and gently ask [co-performers] if they wouldn’t mind playing faster or something. But if it’s your brother you just say, ‘Hey Gil. Speed up.’”

The Israeli-born Shaham moved to the United States with her family at the age of seven in 1982.

Her talents were recognized early on. She received her first scholarship for musical study from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation at the age of five.

She studied at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem and later at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York.

She also taught music literature at Columbia University.

“In Israel, I was very lucky that the climate and musical community was so supportive of musical studies for children,” she reminisced. “I had performing opportunities right away at age five. I was playing on the radio, had student concerts in Israel. And after we moved to the U.S., that continued. I seemed to always have one more concert.”

From 2005 to 2006, Shaham hosted a radio show she created. Dial-a-musician, on the Classical Public Radio Network in the United States, was carried by 40 radio stations.

The premise was that Shaham would take listeners’ questions about the classical music world and then call upon her musician-friends to answer them.

“It was an incredible experience,” she said. “Even I learned. Because every instrument has its own field of expertise.”

Dial-a-musician is no longer airing on radio, but Shaham offers archived podcasts of the show on her website, www.orlishaham.com. Approximately 60 shows were done in all.

Shaham said she’s excited about Sunday’s performance as it gives her a chance to change things up from her normal concert routine.

“I love having something like the AMICI [performance] in the middle of my season,” she admitted. “Although I love playing chamber music, I don’t usually get to play much of it during the season. Most of it tends to fall during the summer festival [season].”

She said the AMICI concert allows her to interrupt her schedule of solo recitals and orchestral concerts and gives her “a moment to make music in that kind of very collegial setting.”

For more information, visit www.amiciensemble.com