Biography
“We are not here to offer answers. We are here to offer music—complicated, layered, sometimes dissonant, sometimes breathtakingly in sync. Just like the story we share.” — Duo Amal
Four hands and two distinct musical voices come together in Duo Amal, the piano duo of Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni. Taking its name from the Arabic word for hope, Duo Amal reflects the pianists’ shared belief in the transcendent and connective power of music. Their collaboration is rooted in exceptional musical compatibility and a deep, long-standing friendship that has shaped both artists for over 25 years.
“It’s hard to imagine that these two pianists, so synchronized in their music-making, grew up in such different worlds,” writes The World. As The Sydney Morning Herald notes, “Duo Amal is clearly like-minded, with the two pianists close friends, something that translates into their performance: synchronised, empathetic and, at times, with an edge of humour.”
Born and raised just 100 miles apart, Haroni and Kohlberg first met as teenagers in Jerusalem. Impressed by one another’s playing, they began attending each other’s performances, and their acquaintance gradually deepened. Their first public appearance as a duo took place in 2008 at the Oslo Opera House, where they performed in a themed concert that revealed an immediate and striking musical rapport. The warmth of the audience response led them to formalize their partnership, and Duo Amal was born.
“This is not only a wonderful sign of friendship between their people but certainly a musical collaboration to enjoy.” — Zubin Mehta
Duo Amal’s repertoire spans core works of the classical canon alongside new commissions and imaginative transcriptions of popular music. Their genre-spanning programs attract diverse audiences and have been presented at leading venues worldwide. In the Americas, these include New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center, Club musical de Québec, Auditorio San Pedro in Monterrey, Teatro Nacional de Bogotá, Sala São Paulo, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. European highlights include Beethovenfest Bonn, the City of London Festival, Salle Cortot in Paris, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. Performances in Australia and Asia have taken the duo to the Melbourne Recital Centre, Beijing Concert Hall, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall, and venues across South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and beyond.
Beyond the concert stage, the two pianists have traveled extensively together—from the Great Wall of China to the Tatra Mountains, and from the temples of Kyoto to Berlin, where they founded a community of like-minded musicians. Between them, they speak seven languages, including German, Hungarian, and Mandarin.
“Bishara is one of the closest people to me in the world. I’m still learning all the time from him. Our friendship has really changed me as a person.” — Yaron Kohlberg
“To feel such a deep connection, that’s very rare. When I really think of it, my greatest music teacher is Yaron.” — Bishara Haroni
After an intensive period of performances between 2011 and 2015, Haroni and Kohlberg’s solo careers led them along different paths. Yet their partnership has remained resilient, and both artists regard Duo Amal as the most meaningful and fulfilling collaboration of their professional lives. They now return the duo to center stage with renewed focus and artistic vision.
The duo’s story is captured in AMAL / Hope (2025), a documentary short by Chinese-American filmmaker Eros Zhao. The film won Best Documentary Short at the Bali International Film Festival and received its U.S. premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles. Screenings have followed at venues including the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, Bryant Park Hotel in New York, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, London’s Southbank Centre, and Los Angeles’s Zipper Hall, where the film is presented alongside a live performance by Duo Amal.
Both members of Duo Amal maintain active international solo careers.
Since graduating from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, Bishara Haroni has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall and as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Valencia Symphony, and Palestinian Chamber Orchestra. He has worked under conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, and Daniel Barenboim, including performances at the BBC Proms. An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading artists at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Salzburg Mozarteum, and Royal Albert Hall.
Born in Jerusalem, Steinway Artist Yaron Kohlberg is dedicated to engaging audiences through innovative programming and supporting emerging artists. He is the recipient of ten international prizes, including the Silver Medal at the Cleveland International Piano Competition. He has appeared in solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, and performed with ensembles such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Beijing Symphony, and Copenhagen Philharmonic. Since 2018, he has served as Artistic Director of Piano Cleveland.
