MICHAEL SLAVIN

AGE 71  I  MANHASSET, NEW YORK  I  UNITED STATES
NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGIST (RETIRED)

A graduate of the Albert Einstein Medical School, Michael Slavin practiced ophthalmology for 25 years, serving as professor and program director at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. His retirement several years ago has allowed him to refocus on playing the piano, a study he began at age 5 and continued through 10 years at Juilliard pre-college. His commitment to amateur pianism is strong: he’s recently recorded all four Chopin Scherzos and all 21 Chopin Nocturnes; he was the first prize winner in competitions in Chicago, Paris, Warsaw, and Washington, D.C.; and recitals have taken him to New York City, Fort Worth, and Washington, D.C., as well as abroad to Japan, Poland, and Germany—which also provide opportunities for him and his wife to enjoy visiting the world’s greatest art and history museums. His proudest musical accomplishment, he says, is his second-prize win in the 2016 Cliburn Amateur. “The amateur world is made up of those that put in a lot of time to perform for one reason and one reason only: their love of the art.”

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

RAVEL Jeux d’eau
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A Minor

Semifinal Round 

JANÁČEK In the Mists
CHOPIN Fantasie in F Minor, op. 49

Final Round 

BEETHOVEN Concerto No. 1 in C Major, op. 15 (I)