“Imagine you had the chance to talk to a youthful Vladimir Horowitz or David Oistrakh before the entire world woke up to them, and found yourself gabbling to your friends about this extraordinary young talent you’d had the privilege of talking to – only to have blank looks or a muted 'that’s interesting'. That’s how it feels talking about the astonishing young Israeli flautist Sharon Bezaly. You want to grab your friends by the shoulders and say 'No, listen to me: when I say astonishing I mean creating-history-as-we-speak good. It’s spelt B-e-z-a-l-y. Remember this name” .

If this sounds like hyperbole, consider the following. Sharon Bezaly started the flute aged eleven, and a mere three years later debuted as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Her recordings have collected top ratings throughout Europe: Editor’s Choice from Gramophone, Diapason d’Or, Choc de la Musique from Le Monde de la Musique, and Stern des Monats from FonoForum – to name but four. The ecstatic reviews include quotes such as 'God’s gift to the flute' (The Times), 'a flutist virtually without peer...' (Classics Today) and 'la più grande flautista della sua generazione' (Musica). The comparisons with Horowitz and Oistrakh are not mine but Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Monde de la Musique went as far as describing her as 'un Paganini de la flûte'.
This was the flattering introduction to an extensive interview with Sharon Bezaly which welcomed in 2007 and appeared on www.classicalsource.com in advance of Sharon’s performance of Sofia Gubaidulina’s flute concerto ‘The Deceitful Face of Hope and of Despair’ which took place on 12 January in London together with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins. Composed specifically for Sharon Bezaly this concerto forms part of the triptych ‘Nadeyka’, written in memory of the composer’s daughter who died in 2004. The London concert featured the world première of the complete triptych as part of a prestigious weekend event dedicated to Gubaidulina’s music at the Barbican. Reviewing the concert The Times wrote:“No wonder she magnetises star soloists ... Sharon Bezaly, flautist extraordinaire, proved extraordinary even when silent, swaying and juddering, parading the flute like Moses’s staff.“

As an integral part of her high-profile solo career, Sharon Bezaly has made it her mission to introduce new works for the flute in an effort to see a wider variety of programming for the instrument both in recital and concert. In addition to the Gubaidulina concerto, Sharon Bezaly so far has ten works dedicated to her and, as she starts to perform these pieces regularly in concert with renowned orchestras around the world, the satisfaction of knowing that she has helped “give birth“ to prominent new works makes the challenge particularly rewarding. With several more concertos currently being written for her by composers such as Brett Dean, Zhou Long and Anders Hillborg, Sharon Bezaly’s work in broadening the repertoire has only just begun.

On CD Sharon Bezaly’s groundbreaking 2004 release Nordic Spell combined new works by Scandinavian composers Kalevi Aho, Haukur Tómasson and Christian Lindberg. This hugely successful project will be followed later this year by Spell Bound, a CD which will feature Sofia Gubaidulina’s Concerto alongside works by fellow female composers Sally Beamish and Mari Takano. Meanwhile Sharon’s latest recording - Bridge across the Pyrenees – is dedicated to the flute concertos of Rodrigo and Ibert and includes the famous 'Carmen Fantasy' by François Borne

The year 2007 bears witness to Sharon’s achievements both as a champion of new music and of the traditional flute repertoire. Following January’s high profile concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Belgian National Orchestra (Mozart concerto in D major) Sharon performs with the Residentie Orkest, the Bern, Sao Paulo and Yomiuri Symphony Orchestras (Aho), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Mozart), the Athens State Orchestra and Granada Symphony Orchestra (Rodrigo), the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (Nielsen) and the Scottish Ensemble (Bach and a new commission) to name but a few. Sharon returns to the Netherlands in January 2008 to give the Dutch premiere of the Gubaidulina flute concerto with the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra in the Concertgebouw where she will also give her debut recital in April 2008.

Alongside her many touring engagements, Sharon Bezaly has been invited to participate in the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme which brings her to the UK regularly throughout the next two years and which allows her to explore a wide range of programmes with different musical partners. Performances include her debut Wigmore Hall recital on 5 March 2007, concerts and recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish, BBC Wales and Ulster Symphony Orchestra as well as appearances at both the City of London and Cheltenham Festivals already planned for the summer of 2007.